Gloucester Catholic’s McCummings provides clutch hit

It was a taut pitchers' duel between senior lefthanders who kept tossing zeroes on the scoreboard.

One swing changed the Non-Public South B championship game.

Gloucester Catholic junior catcher Elliott McCummings drove an 0-1 pitch over the fence in left-center field in the bottom of the fourth inning to snap a scoreless tie and spark the Rams to a 3-0 victory over Holy Cross.

"Fastball, right down the middle," McCummings said. "It was the best feeling in the world."

In a game with just four hits total, McCummings' blast loomed large.

The game was 0-0 after three innings as Gloucester Catholic's Cody Brown, who is 11-0, and Holy Cross' Jeff Singer, who is 9-2, shut down both lineups.

The top-ranked Rams managed to scratch out another run in the bottom of the fifth, but McCummings' hit took the pressure off the defending state champions.

"In the heat of tournament games, you need big hits like that," Gloucester Catholic coach Dennis Barth said. "The coaches were saying that Elliott was due to catch one."

With McCummings behind the plate, Brown pitched the first no-hitter of his career. But the pitcher said his batterymate's big hit made all the difference.

"As a pitcher, you love to get any runs," Brown said. "For Elliott to get that home run and give us a 2-0 lead, that was huge."