Morris Catholic shuts out Gill St. Bernard's to repeat as Non-Public B softball champion

DENVILLE – The road to the state championship continues down Morris Avenue.

For the second straight year, Morris Catholic captured the Non-Public B North softball title, defeating Gill St. Bernard’s, 11-0 in five innings on Tuesday.

Junior pitcher Hannah Streicher struck out nine batters and allowed five hits, one walk and no runs and helped her own cause going 3-for-3 at the plate with an RBI and a run scored.

The Crusaders advance to the state final where they face St. Joseph-Hammonton on Friday at Ivy Hill Park in Newark in a rematch of last year's title game. St. Joseph defeated Gloucester Catholic, 3-2 in the Non-Public B South final on Tuesday.

Last year Morris Catholic defeated St. Joseph, 2-0 in the Non-Public B final.

“We’ve faced so much adversity this year. That’s the big difference with this year’s team compared to last year. We’re a much closer team because of it,” Streicher said. “I think we can make another run this year. I’ve been hitting my spots all year and I feel I’ve been doing a good job keeping batters off balance.”

Morris Catholic (22-5), the defending state champion, banged out nine hits with sophomore Kate Heslin recording two hits - a double, home run and a team-high four RBIs.

Junior Carly Mockenhaupt (1-for-1, one run, one RBI) was credited with the game-winning RBI on a sacrifice fly in the first inning and Heslin's three-run home run in the frame put the game out of reach as the Crusaders raced out to a 5-0 lead.

“My mindset this year is the team. My approach is to do whatever I can do for the team. It’s about the team, not me,” Mockenhaupt said. “We lost some good players to graduation last spring, but it’s important we continue to be our team. We’re a family and that tight unity has allowed us to play well.”

Gill St. Bernard’s (16-5), playing in its first North, Non-Public B Tournament since 2011 after competing in the South sectional the last 10 years, snapped a seven-game win streak with the loss.

What it means

Morris Catholic is the Non-Public B champion for the fifth time in program history. The Crusaders captured sectional titles in 1976, 1986, 2011 and 2021.

In three playoff victories, the Denville parochial school has outscored its opponents, 25-2 with wins against St. Dominic (10-0) and Lodi Immaculate (4-2).

Morris Catholic has won seven straight games and 12 of its last 13. During the Crusaders' streak, they have outscored opponents, 70-13 with three shutouts.

Turning point

Morris Catholic coach Nick DeGennaro points to his team’s last loss against Roxbury in a Morris County Tournament semifinal as the turning point of the season. He immediately noticed the difference following a 1-0 setback to the Gaels.

“The counties made us a better team," said DeGennaro, in his fifth season at Morris Catholic.

"We learned what we needed to do better. We weren’t patient at the plate. We swung at balls off the plate. We didn’t get the pitch count up, things that we like to do to other pitchers. We learned from that. It made us a much better team. We needed to get that rude awakening. This is a driven group of kids.”

A 6-5 win over Non-Public A North champion Mount St. Dominic on May 24 provided Morris Catholic with a spark and confidence heading into the final month of the season.

“The win over Mount St. Dominic really allowed us to take off. We’ve worked hard at hitting and we’ll work hard again tomorrow and make adjustments,” DeGennaro said.

“We’re a closer knit team. We had some really good bonds last year, but this year it’s even better. They’re all on the same page and moving in the same direction.”

Nick Gantaifis is a high school sports reporter for Dailyrecord.com and NJHerald.com. For full access to live scores, breaking news and analysis, subscribe today.

Email: gantaifis@northjersey.com 

Twitter: @ngantaifis1 

This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: NJ Softball: Morris Catholic beats Gill St. Bernard's to defend title