LINWOOD – In their quest back to the Cape-Atlantic League title game, the Mainland Mustangs baseball team dug deep and knocked off the defending champions convincingly.
After a tough stretch of games that saw the Mustangs lose five of six games, they rattled off back-to-back wins in the conference tournament, including the 7-1 victory over 2025 CAL champion St. Augustine Prep in the semifinals May 14.
St. Augustine crushed the Mustangs two times a week earlier by a combined score of 23-8 in regular-season play, but it was John Franchini and the Mustangs who seized the day and performed when it mattered the most.
Franchini gave the offense everything he could in the game. He was perfect at the plate, going 3-for-3 with two singles and a double. He batted in three runs for the Mustangs as the ninth batter in the lineup. Ryan Bradly got on base twice right before Franchini came up and scored two runs.
The production from the bottom of the lineup proved to be too strong alongside a 2-RBI performance from leadoff hitter Jake Blum, but it turned out the Mustangs did not necessarily need such a well-rounded offensive game.
Franchini batted in three runs which alone would have been enough to secure the win after a gem of a performance by starting pitcher Dom Deluca.
The sophomore pitched all seven innings for Mainland in his first complete game of the season. Deluca held the high-powered St. Augustine offense scoreless for the first five innings of the game until finally surrendering one lone run in the sixth inning.
Despite having the shutout broken, Deluca came back out onto the mound in the seventh inning and finished his dominant performance against one of the best lineups in New Jersey.
Deluca pitched two innings in the teams’ previous matchups and did not give up a hit in either instance. Mainland asked him to replicate that success in a much larger role and he delivered.
Mainland similarly rode its strong pitching in the first game of the tournament against Absegami High School in which ace Will Hickman took the mound.
Hickman continued his outstanding start to his season as he led the Mustangs to a 5-2 victory over Absegami on May 12. Hickman improved his record as a starter this season to 8-0 and has pitched at least five innings in all but one of his starts.
Mainland’s offense backed up Hickman with some run support immediately in the first inning with a four-run rally.
The top of the lineup for the Mustangs got off to a great start as they had the first five batters get on base. Colton Donahue brought the first runner home with an RBI double and left the bases with himself on second and Bradley Delaney on third.
Cole Stefano cleaned up with another double that scored two runs and put Mainland up 3-0. One more run was scored off a sacrifice fly by Sean Burke, which gave Hickman plenty of wiggle room on the mound with four runs in his pocket.
Absegami only could muster two runs in response for the rest of the game and were closed out by Dante Zappala, who finished the game for Hickman in the final inning.
The Mustangs faced off against Egg Harbor Township High School for the conference title on May 19. It was Mainland’s third straight appearance in the title game with the previous two years both against St. Augustine with each team winning once. Mainland won the title in 2023 and nearly came back from eight runs down in the 2024 game to shock St. Augustine.
The CAL tournament served as an appetizer and warm-up to the playoffs that begin the week of May 25. Before the tournament, the Mustangs had some tough games not go their way but now they have some big wins in a single-elimination bracket to build upon heading into the postseason.
– STORY by WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Sentinel
– PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
