South Jersey's top-ranked teams headed for Diamond Classic

The four top-ranked teams in South Jersey will face each other in the first round of the 40th annual Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic baseball tournament.

Gloucester Catholic (16-2), ranked No. 1 by The Inquirer, will play No. 4 Washington Township (12-5) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Maple Shade.

Second-ranked Eastern (16-2) will meet No. 3 St. Augustine (12-4) at 1 p.m. at Washington Township in another first-round game that looks more like a semifinal - or final.

The pairings for the tournament were announced Sunday night.

This season, the brackets had the Olympic American representative (Washington Township) playing the No. 1 at-large team (Gloucester Catholic), and the Cape Atlantic American representative (St. Augustine) playing the No. 2 at-large team (Eastern).

Ten teams received automatic bids for leading their respective division races through Saturday.

Six teams received at-large bids in voting by a committee of South Jersey sportswriters. The six at-large teams, in order of their ranking: Gloucester Catholic, Eastern, Cherry Hill West, Bishop Eustace, Vineland, and Williamstown.

The quarterfinals will be staged as doubleheaders at Deptford and Washington Township on May 18.

The semifinals will be May 19 at 1 p.m. at Deptford and Washington Township, with the title game at 5 that evening at Eastern.

Saturday's games

At Maple Shade

Delsea vs. Audubon, 10:30 a.m

Washington Township vs. Gloucester Catholic, 1 p.m.

At Deptford

Cherry Hill West vs. Buena, 10:30 a.m.

Vineland vs. Northern Burlington, 1 p.m.

At Overbrook

West Deptford vs. Pitman, 10:30 a.m.

Williamstown vs. Camden Catholic, 1 p.m.

At Washington Township

Bishop Eustace vs. New Egypt, 10:30 a.m.

Eastern vs. St. Augustine, 1 p.m.