St. Mark’s wins 10th baseball state championship

There are no doubters of the St. Mark’s High School baseball team now.

How could the critics forget earlier this season that this is the program that has more baseball state championships than anyone?

That playoff savvy was evident as St. Mark’s hit and pitched its way to a 13-4 win over Sussex Central High School Tuesday, June 2 at Frawley Stadium. With that, everyone had to forget the team that lost to this same Sussex Central team during the season 11-2 and had lost to defending champion Salesianum (dispensed by Sussex in the semifinals) 5-2 and 6-0, respectively.

St. Mark’s finished the year 18-6. Sussex Central fell to 20-3.

St. Mark’s starter Taylor Mahoney settled to not allow a run after the second inning, striking out 10 batters, including six straight at one point. He also helped himself at the plate, going 3-for-4 with one RBI.

“He struggled early in the game, but he battled all game for us and he did a great job,” said St. Mark’s coach Matt Smith. “It’s all about these kids. We faced some adversity early in the season; we struggled. A lot of people were saying we’re no good and we’re washed up. Those kids are the ones that deserve it.”

Mahoney, of Newark, said it took him a few innings to get into a groove, but the Spartans’ offensive barrage helped take the pressure off of him. He used his fastball and curveball to keep the Golden Knights off balance.

“I was just trying to get ahead in the count,” he said. “That makes it a lot easier. I think they put up eight runs against me in the first inning [during the season].”

Left fielder Mike Medori went 4-for-5 with five RBIs to lead the Spartan hitters.

“We just kept working hard and hitting the ball,” said Medori, of Newark. “Coach Smith did a great job; he kept telling us we’re the best team in the state and we can be here one day. He was right.”

Sussex Central coach Todd Brock tipped his cap to “a great program.”

“They got hot toward the end of the year, the right time of the year,” he said. “We were hot coming into this game. Unfortunately, we ran into some good pitching. Mahoney had us off balance and our sticks didn’t seem to come alive.”