By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Colin Miller tossed a six hitter and the St. Joseph’s Marauders (Section VI) held on to defeat the McQuaid Jesuit Knights, 5-4 in non-league action, Friday.
Pitching through intermittent rain drops, Miller struck out three and walked three for his second win of the season. The junior left-hander retired eight straight from the end of the fourth to the start of the seventh.
“He had a heckuva game,” St. Joe’s coach Paul Nasca said. “He did a terrific job, terrific job. Tough circumstances with the rain falling a little bit. The ball was wet all day long.”
St. Joe’s took advantage of early opportunities to grab a lead.
Anthony Brophy singled up the middle, and Dennis Gagliardo worked a base on balls to start the second. After a passed ball, Will Carlone got the Marauders on the board with a sacrifice fly. Gagliardo made a 2-0 game when he scored on Gavin Collura‘s ground ball to the right side of the infield.
“It was wet,” Nasca reiterated. “It was tough to get balls through the infield. You scratch a couple of hits. You steal. You move a couple of runners. Even a ground out is a run. You kinda piece it together. If you’re getting guys on base, you can do those things.”
A pair of errors led to two more St. Joe’s runs in the third. Mark Gilbert singled to start the stanza and moved 90 feet on a sacrifice bunt. Luke Pierce put runners on the corners with a base hit to right. Both scored on fielding miscues.
McQuaid starter, Donnie Moffatt, limited the Marauders to just one hit over the next three innings. The senior left-hander, who was 2-0 in his previous two starts – a pair of complete games – finished with nine strike outs and one walk on the day.
“Donnie is a competitor,” McQuaid coach Tony Fuller said. “That’s one of his best traits. He always wants the ball. When you take the ball away from him, he’s gets grumpy, but that’s what I like about him. He always want the ball. I’ll never complain about him. He gets after it.”
Moffatt allowed two earned runs.
Tyler Cyrus made his first appearance out of the bullpen in more than two weeks and retired the side in order getting a pair of ground ball outs.
“With Moffatt and (Erik) Johnson throwing complete games it’s tough on the bullpen guys,” Fuller said. “It was good to give him an opportunity to to get in a live game. He got the three outs that we needed to give us a chance there at the end. That’s all you ask for.”
Morrie Silver got McQuaid on the scoreboard in the third. The senior first baseman knocked a one-out single up the middle and eventually scored on an error.
McQuaid’s Jack Davis made it 4-2 game in the fourth when he plated Billy Kehrig with a sacrifice fly.
St. Joe’s scored an unearned run in the fifth.
McQuaid loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh. Jonathon Catapano doubled over the third-base bag and scored two, but the tying run run was out at the plate.
Collura made two spectacular catches in centerfield to slow the Knights seventh-inning rally.
St. Joe’s improved to 10-6 with the win.
The loss snapped a seven-game win streak for the Knights. McQuaid is 11-4 on the season. The Knight travel to Corning on Saturday.
More Results From Section V Baseball:
GREECE ATHENA 8 GATES CHILI 2
Trevor Layne notched a complete game victory with five strike outs and only one walk. Sophomore Mike Ruta 2-for-2 with three RBI, and Justin LoTemple collected two hits including a triple.
BROCKPORT 7 CHURCHVILLE-CHILI 5
Mitchell Henshaw hit a walk-off three-run home run for the Blue Devils. Christian Montanez connected on a grand slam to give Churchville a 4-2 lead.
FAIRPORT 2 WEBSTER THOMAS 0
Connor Ewing tossed a 4-hitter. The senior RHP struck out seven and walked one. Chad Riorden singled and scored the eventual game winner in the fourth inning.
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