Jax Luzinski leads Shawnee past Haddon Heights in Diamond Classic
Big games in mid-May are something new for Jax Luzinski and the Shawnee baseball team. The senior rightfielder and the rest of the Renegades are determined to make the most of them.
Big games in mid-May are something new for Jax Luzinski and the Shawnee baseball team.
The senior rightfielder and the rest of the Renegades are determined to make the most of them.
Luzinski cracked a home run and a double and drove in three runs as Shawnee beat Haddon Heights, 8-3, on Monday in the first round of the 44th annual Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic.
"Since I've been here we've never really done anything in the Diamond or the playoffs," Luzinski said. "It's nice for us to finally be playing big games again."
Senior righthander Jake Coolahan worked 42/3 innings to earn his sixth victory without a loss for Shawnee (16-4), which advanced to face the winner of Tuesday's Cherry Hill West-Cinnaminson game in Saturday's semifinals.
Before that, Shawnee has a chance to clinch a share of Olympic American title on Wednesday against Washington Township.
And looming next week is the start of the South Jersey Group 4 tournament, with the Renegades likely to earn a top 3 seed.
"This group is good about not looking ahead," said Shawnee assistant coach Tim Welsh, who directed the team as head coach Brian Anderson was absent with an illness. "But they know they have some opportunities ahead of them."
Welsh said Shawnee was making its first appearance in the Diamond Classic "in at least 10 years, maybe 15."
Pat Durkin had a double, an RBI and a run scored and Pat Spaeth had two singles for Haddon Heights (13-8), which also can claim division honors this week with games against Colonial Patriot rivals Gateway and Haddon Township.
"We ran two freshman [pitchers] out there against one of the best teams in South Jersey," Haddon Heights coach Eric Newell said. "The kids competed. They didn't back down against a bigger school and I was really proud of them."
Luzinski roped an RBI double in a three-run first inning and cracked a two-run homer in a three-run third inning, driving a 3-2 pitch high and deep to right field.
"I saw the rightfielder not moving and I thought, 'I guess it's not going anywhere,' " Luzinski said. "But it felt good off the bat and it kept going."
The bat landed on top of the yellow piping on the top of the fence and bounced over.
"That was pretty solid," Luzinski said.
Luzinski said "chemistry" has been the difference between this Shawnee team and some of the Renegades squads of the past.
"There's a real sense on this team that everybody is pulling for everybody," Luzinski said.
Shawnee 303 000 2 - 8 8 3
Haddon Heights 100 110 0 - 3 7 2
WP: Jake Coolahan. LP: Ian Brennan.
2B: S-Jax Luzinski, Max Milano. HH-Pat Durkin, Andrew Gibson.
HR: S-Jax Luzinski.
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