Monzo, Deptford finish strong to top West Deptford

Mark Monzo started slowly and so did the Deptford baseball team.

Monzo finished strongly and so did the Spartans.

Monzo, a senior righthander, pitched seven innings, struck out eight and cracked a two-run home run as Deptford rallied from a 4-0 deficit to beat West Deptford, 7-6, in eight innings Wednesday night at Union Field.

"This is a very big win for us," Monzo said after Deptford improved to 11-3 and raised its profile with a comeback road victory over a South Jersey Group 2 power.

Deptford coach Tony Leone said the win was "huge for us" and senior Nick Ferrett regarded it as perhaps the team's top triumph of the season.

"Words can't even describe how big this win is for us," said Ferrett, who pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning to earn the save.

West Deptford (10-4), the No. 13 team in The Inquirer Top 20, broke to a 4-0 lead and the Eagles rallied from a 6-5 deficit to force extra innings on Eric Ainsley's one-out, RBI double in the bottom of the seventh.

"Give them credit," West Deptford coach John Oehler said of Deptford. "They were scrappy all the way through. We stopped scoring in the middle innings."

Monzo allowed four runs in the first two innings then settled down and held West Deptford in check over his final five innings. He ended up throwing 142 pitches.

Monzo struck out in his first at bat. He hit a double and scored in the fourth, then tied the game at 5-5 with a two-out, two-run homer in the fifth.

Deptford scored the winning run on Shane Kelly's RBI single in the top of the eighth.

"These guys just trust each other," Leone said.

Deptford 002 130 01 - 7 10 1

West Deptford 130 100 10 - 6 10 3

WP: Mark Monzo. LP: Derek Wakeley. 2B: D-Mark Monzo; WD- Ryan Baglivo, Walt Vickery, Eric Ainsley. HR: D-Monzo.

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