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Liszewski carries Timber Creek past Winslow Twp.

The Winslow Township baseball team was hot. The Timber Creek baseball team was not. The Eagles were riding high after consecutive shutout victories over Bishop Eustace and Seneca by a combined score of 12-0.

The Winslow Township baseball team was hot.

The Timber Creek baseball team was not.

The Eagles were riding high after consecutive shutout victories over Bishop Eustace and Seneca by a combined score of 12-0.

The Chargers were coming off a 10-0 loss to Eastern.

But this just in: Baseball is a funny game.

"This was a huge win for us," Timber Creek coach John Gladden said after his squad's 4-3 victory over visiting Winslow Township in an Olympic Conference National Division game Friday afternoon. "We preach, 'Team, team, team instead of me, me, me' and this was a true team win."

Sophomore third baseman Drew Liszewski led the way as Timber Creek (4-3 overall, 2-0 in the Olympic National) seized sole possession of first place in the division.

Liszewski gobbled up everything that came his way and made eight assists. He also delivered the game-winning hit with a two-out, RBI single that broke a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the sixth inning.

"The coaches are always saying, 'Go the other way,'" Liszewski said of his decisive hit, a liner drive into right field. "It was an outside pitch and I just went with it."

Liszewski's glove work backed strong pitching by Timber Creek freshman left-hander Anthony DiMartino, who went 5 1/3 innings in his first varsity start.

DiMartino left the game after he was hit in the shin by a line drive. Timber Creek's Ethan Blasko pitched the final 1 2/3 innings and earned the victory.

"I loved his mentality," Gladden said of DiMartino. "He took the mound with a bulldog mentality."

Wayne Jackson and Darnell Maisonet delivered RBI singles for Winslow Township (5-3, 2-1).

"They came to play," Maisonet said of Timber Creek.

Winslow Township coach Keith Regn was concerned before the game that his team might not play with a sharp competitive edge after scoring a pair of impressive victories, especially since Bishop Eustace was undefeated and ranked No. 1 in South Jersey when the Eagles shut out the Crusaders.

Winslow Township played solid defense on a warm, muggy afternoon, but the Eagles stranded 10 base-runners.

"Give them credit," Regn said of Timber Creek. "They made the plays. I don't think we play a bad game. We just couldn't seem to get the big hit when we needed it."

Some of Winslow Township's sharpest-hit balls ended up in Liszewski's glove.

The Chargers' third baseman made the defensive play of the game in the second inning, when he made a diving backhanded stop of Dante Serchia's hard-hit grounder, bounced to his feet and fired a strike to first base.

"That's the kind of play that gets everybody excited," Gladden said. "The whole team was up after that one."

Liszewski made two assists in the third inning and two more in the fifth. He gobbled another hard-hit grounder and threw to first for the second out in the seventh.

"He made every play," Regn said of Liszewski.

After Winslow Township scored a pair of runs in the top of the sixth to pull even at 3-3, Timber Creek regained the lead in the bottom half of the inning.

Pinch-hitters Zach Lutner and Kevin Jenkins reached with one-out walks. After a fly out, Liszewski delivered the game-winning hit, his second single of the afternoon.

"He carried us today," Gladden said of Liszewski. "He's just a sophomore and he put us on his back and carried us."

Winslow Township 100 002 0 - 3 7 0

Timber Creek 300 001 0 - 4 8 1

WP: Ethan Blasko. LP: Nik Kuriger. 2B: W-John Archer; TC-Ethan Blasko.

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