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Rosenbaum keeps Chestnut Hill in first place

Chestnut Hill Academy's Dan Rosenbaum is best known for his hitting, especially for the way the ball flies off his bat.

Chestnut Hill's Dan Rosenbaum held Haverford School to four hits in six innings. (David Swanson/Staff Photographer)
Chestnut Hill's Dan Rosenbaum held Haverford School to four hits in six innings. (David Swanson/Staff Photographer)Read more

Chestnut Hill Academy's Dan Rosenbaum is best known for his hitting, especially for the way the ball flies off his bat.

The up-and-coming junior is also not too shabby on the mound, as he showed in Tuesday's Inter-Ac League showdown with Haverford School.

Rosenbaum, a 6-foot-1, 205-pound righthander who doubles as a third baseman, held the Fords to four hits over six innings as the host Blue Devils triumphed, 7-4, and maintained sole possession of first place.

"I was hitting spots with my fastball, and my curveball was also working pretty well," he said.

Rosenbaum, of Lafayette Hill, also mixed in a slider and change-up in improving his league record to 3-0. He struck out six, with three straight whiffs (two looking) in the fourth inning. Three of the four runs he allowed were earned.

"He can touch 90 [m.p.h.] occasionally on the radar gun," Chestnut Hill coach Stan Parker said. "He's a tough competitor. He's just going to get better and better."

Rosenbaum has committed to Louisville.

"They've been telling me I'm going to pitch and play third base," he said. "That sounds good to me. I'd like to do both, if possible."

The 17-year-old spent his first two years of high school at Plymouth Whitemarsh. Last year at Chestnut Hill, while repeating his sophomore year, he had to sit out league games, per Inter-Ac rules.

"He's fit in nicely here," Parker said. "He has a low-key personality, with a good sense of humor. He's a leader in his own way. The kids have confidence in him."

Against Haverford, Rosenbaum went 2 for 3 with a walk from the cleanup spot. He produced a slow-rolling single to shortstop in the third and an RBI double down the third-base line in a fourth-run fourth.

The Blue Devils improved to 15-1 overall and 3-0 in the Inter-Ac. Earlier this spring, they developed chemistry and improved their skills while playing six games in Fort Pierce, Fla.

"It's nothing but baseball, and it's good competition." Parker said. "It gave us a chance to figure out who was going to play where."

In the third, Dan Hull, following Rosenbaum in the order, gave Chestnut Hill a 3-1 advantage with a two-run double to left-center field off hard-throwing junior righthander Eric Close. The other big hit in the fourth was Matt Primavera's two-run single to left.

"We're a pretty good hitting team," Parker said. "Our first six or seven guys have been pretty consistent."

Rosenbaum (13 extra-base hits), Hull, Primavera, Nick Barile, and Matt Rowland each came in hitting better than .425.

The Fords, who slipped to 13-3 and 2-2, were hurt by three errors. Close, a Division I prospect, yielded four hits in the same number of innings.

Haverford School   0100120 - 453

Chestnut Hill Academy   102400x - 741

WP: Dan Rosenbaum. LP: Eric Close. 2B: HS-Tom Harper; CHA-Rosenbaum.