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Cinnaminson's Staub shuts out Holy Cross

Brandon Staub painted a quiet masterpiece. The Cinnaminson High junior lefthander didn't pop his catcher's glove with a loud fastball. He didn't power his way through the Holy Cross lineup.

Cinnaminson pitcher Brandon Staub pumps his fist after retiring the side in the 4th inning the Cinnaminson at Holy Cross H.S. boys baseball game on April 28, 2015. (Elizabeth Robertson/Staff Photographer)
Cinnaminson pitcher Brandon Staub pumps his fist after retiring the side in the 4th inning the Cinnaminson at Holy Cross H.S. boys baseball game on April 28, 2015. (Elizabeth Robertson/Staff Photographer)Read more

Brandon Staub painted a quiet masterpiece.

The Cinnaminson High junior lefthander didn't pop his catcher's glove with a loud fastball. He didn't power his way through the Holy Cross lineup.

"He did what he does," Cinnaminson coach Kevin Merrill said after Staub led the visiting Pirates to a 5-0 victory over Holy Cross on Tuesday in a key Burlington County League Patriot Division baseball game.

Staub pitched a complete game, allowing just four hits with one walk as Cinnaminson won the battle of neighborhood rivals and teams in The Inquirer's Top 20 rankings.

No. 3 hitter Jimmy Cicale was 3 for 3 with two RBIs while leadoff man Travis Pewor and No. 2 hitter Nick Thevanayagam each scored two runs for Cinnaminson (8-2, 2-1 in the division), the No. 10 team in the rankings. All are seniors.

Senior righthander Vince Naurath pitched a complete game with five strikeouts and junior shortstop Joe Paolini rapped a double and played a strong defensive game for No. 14 Holy Cross (10-5, 3-1).

"We're just not hitting," said Holy Cross coach Steve Paolini, Joe's father. "The good thing is, there's still time to turn things around."

Mixing his fastball with a sharp curveball and effective change-up, Staub faced just 25 batters as Cinnaminson took a big step toward clinching the Burlington County League's large-school automatic berth to the Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic.

"That would be great," Staub said of the Pirates' earning the automatic berth ahead of Northern Burlington based on their early-season victory over the No. 2 Greyhounds.

The Hartmann Classic pairings will be announced Sunday. Cinnaminson has a 5-1 record in games against teams in the league's larger two divisions, which will send one automatic qualifier to the tournament.

Cinnaminson jumped to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first as Pewor and Thevanayagam singled and advanced on a wild pitch, racing home on Cicale's sharp single down the left-field line.

"We wanted to get out in front of them with the top of our lineup and put the pressure on them," Cicale said.

The same three were in the middle of another two-run rally in the third as Pewor and Cicale singled and Thevanayagam reached on an infield error. Pewor and Thevanayagam both came around to score.

Staub faced just nine batters through the first three innings. Only two Holy Cross runners reached second base, and one was picked off. Staub retired the final six batters, recording two of his three strikeouts in the last two innings.

"He pounded the zone," Merrill said. "He kept the hitters off-balance. That's when he's at his best."

The 5-foot-8 Staub said he threw about 35 percent change-ups on a warm, windy afternoon at Holy Cross' well-manicured field in Delran.

"It was just dropping out of the zone," Staub said of his best pitch.

"He did a great job," Paolini said. "He gets you in a change-up count, then he throws his fastball and it seems a lot faster than it is. He had us guessing all game."

Cinnaminson 202 000 1 - 5 7 0

Holy Cross 000 000 0 - 0 4 1

WP: Brandon Staub. LP: Vince Naurath.

2B: HC-Joe Paolini.