By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Publisher Mara Marczyk may have to start playing referee a little bit at the dinner table as husband Stash and son Matt argue over which Holy Spirit state championship team was better, 1982 or 2015. The fact that the boys even have the chance to jockey back and forth about the success of their respective high school baseball teams is something the family certainly is enjoying, however. Stash Marczyk was the starting right fielder and reserve catcher for the 1982 Holy Spirit baseball team that won the state championship and was the last to do so — until this year’s version of the Spartans went on its magical run to end that title drought. Holy Spirit went just 9-16 in regular-season games, but won all five of its playoff games, capturing both the Non-Public B South and overall Non-Public B championships. After 33 years, the Spartans could call themselves state champions again after they dispatched Newark Academy 9-4 in the state title game with senior Matt Marczyk as the starting catcher. “We absolutely could have thrown in the towel, but we knew we were a talented team,” Matt said. “I’ve always heard about my dad. His team was the last team to win a state title, and it’s awesome to get there and be like him.” 
Holy Spirit senior catcher Matt Marczyk poses for a photo with father Stash and mom Mara after the Spartans beat Marist 7-1 to capture the Non-Public B South championship. Matt and his teammates went on to win the overall state championship, the first title since the 1982 season, when Stash was the starting right fielder for Spirit. (Glory Days Magazine photos/Dave O’Sullivan) “It’s unbelievable. It was a tough start to the season, but the guys didn’t give up and the coaches stuck with them. It was a horrible way to start the season, but it’s a nice way to end it,” Stash said. “It’s fantastic. It’s nice to be able to sit back and relax and just watch the games. It’s much more relaxing than actually playing, I know that.” Stash said that even after 33 years, he hasn’t forgotten the thrill of winning a state title. “We had a great coach, Ed Burns, who didn’t know a lot about baseball but he knew how to motivate and he did a great job motivating us. We had a great pitcher who is still a local guy, Bobby Wright. He’s stayed very active with youth sports in the area,” Stash said. “It was a great run we had. You never forget it.” “Since I took over, we’ve been incorporating the alumni into a lot of the things we do, from the two alumni games we’ve had and everything else we’ve done. We invite them out to practice and things like that,” said Holy Spirit head coach Steve Normane. “To see Matt’s dad and uncle play in this year’s alumni game, and to have that connection with that being the last state championship team, it was almost too good to be true. It was like something out of a movie script, you couldn’t make that up. He was on a state championship team and now his son goes out as a state champion. It’s great. It’s almost too perfect.” Stash said he and the other parents were just hoping this year’s Spartans team could get through a round or two of the state playoffs. Winning a title took everybody by surprise. “The only thing we (as parents) were hoping was to get some revenge on St. Joe’s after they knocked us out last year. They just took it one game at a time and that’s the way the coaches have taught them all year and they have stayed motivated,” Stash said. “I’m very proud. Starting in his freshman year, it didn’t seem like Matt would be a high school catcher, but he worked hard and stuck with it and stayed dedicated to the sport.” Said Normane, “These kids gave it their all and stuck with it, and they get to go out as state champs. They’ll have that their whole lives, just like Stash has had that for his whole life, so that’s really cool.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays [adsense]
Holy Spirit catcher Matt Marczyk follows in dad Stash’s footsteps, helps Spartans win state title
