Holy Cross blows out Moorestown with 9-run seventh inning
Pitching to Mark Zagunis is dangerous enough with nobody on base.
Pitching to Mark Zagunis is dangerous enough with nobody on base.
Pitching to the Holy Cross catcher with multiple runners on base is asking for trouble.
That happened twice on Monday as Zagunis delivered a three-run triple and a three-run home run to lead Holy Cross to an 18-8 victory over Moorestown in a three-hour, Burlington County League inter-division game.
"I was looking for a fastball to drive," Zagunis said after the Lancers, the No. 6 team in The Inquirer Top 10, collected 14 hits, seven walks, and seven hit batsman in their season opener on a warm afternoon on the Quakers field.
Junior second baseman Tim Gallagher rapped three hits, including a three-run double, and senior leftfielder Kyle Semmel added two doubles for Holy Cross.
The Lancers also got three singles from senior first baseman Jeff Singer, while senior designated hitter Dan Elitz was hit by a pitch three times.
"We're going to hit, up and down our lineup," said Gallagher, who also turned two double plays.
Junior first baseman Nick Savino was 4 for 4 with a pair of RBIs for Moorestown (1-2).
"We're a young team and our inexperience showed at times," Moorestown coach Bill Donoghue said.
"Holy Cross is a senior-laden team with guys who have been through playoff wars. They knew how to respond."
It was a strange game.
Holy Cross took a 6-0 lead, Moorestown rallied to within 6-5 and Holy Cross scored nine times in a wild seventh inning that included Zagunis' three-run homer, Gallagher's three-run double, and four hit batters.
Tempers flared on a couple of occasions during the endless inning.
"It got a little spirited," Holy Cross coach Steve Paolini said. "When you only travel 10 minutes to get to a game, it's going to be a rivalry."
Donoghue thought his team's youth showed at times in the game.
"We played good at times and at other times our emotion got the best of us," Donoghue said. "Holy Cross knew what to do. They reacted the way a good team reacts."
Zagunis, a Virginia Tech recruit, drove his three-run triple into the gap in right-center in the second and his three-run homer into the gap in left-center in the seventh. He also walked twice, stole a base and scored three runs.
"We're going to hit all year," Zagunis said.
Holy Cross 060 003 9 - 18 14 1
Moorestown 000 500 3 - 8 8 1
WP: Barry Griffies. LP: Mike O'Dea.
2B: HC-Kyle Semmel, 2, Tim Gallagher; M-Nick Savino.
3B: HC-Mark Zagunis.
HR: HC-Zagunis.