Seneca outscores Moorestown, 24-24, to win the South Jersey Group 3 baseball crown
Kevin Comer passed for two touchdowns, and Ryan Williams ran for 200 yards on Friday to lead Seneca to a 24-14 victory over Moorestown.
Kevin Comer passed for two touchdowns, and Ryan Williams ran for 200 yards on Friday to lead Seneca to a 24-14 victory over Moorestown.
Wait. Wrong sport.
Right score, though.
"Wildest game I've ever been involved with," Seneca baseball coach Sean Cassel said after his team's victory in the South Jersey Group 3 championship game before a few hundred spectators at Moorestown.
Anybody hoping to see a taut pitchers' duel was disappointed, although Comer restored order by working the final two innings. The senior righthander, who could be selected in the early rounds of next week's major-league draft, threw 23 pitches, 18 for strikes, and allowed only an infield single.
That was absolute mastery in a game with statistics more akin to slow-pitch softball than championship-level baseball.
"It was nuts," said Williams, Seneca's senior shortstop.
Williams rapped four hits, including two doubles and a home run; drove in four runs; and scored four runs as eighth-seeded Seneca (13-7) advanced to face Central Jersey champion Middletown South in the state semifinals Tuesday at Rutgers.
Gabe Santone cracked two home runs and finished with six RBIs, and Mark Steen collected three hits, including a homer, and five RBIs for the Golden Eagles.
"We couldn't hold them down," Moorestown coach Bill Donoghue said. "They kept answering back."
Seneca scored 11 runs in the top of the first.
Moorestown scored seven in the bottom of the first.
"Give them credit," Cassel said of Moorestown. "They punched back."
Justin Chrone had three hits and four RBIs, and Andrew Lisa and Drew Pederson each had three hits for second-seeded Moorestown (17-6). Joey Frey added two hits and two RBIs and scored three runs for the Quakers.
"We were nervous," Donoghue said. "We're young. We only had one senior out there. But our kids kept clawing back."
Seneca had 17 hits, including 10 for extra bases. Moorestown had 18 hits and left 12 runners on base.
"I never thought we could score 14 runs and lose a sectional title game," Donoghue said.
In the fourth, Moorestown closed to within 17-13 and had runners on second and third with one out. But winning pitcher Rob Antoniewicz retired the next two batters, and Seneca added three runs in the top of the fifth on Williams' home run and sacrifice flies by Rich Powelson (two doubles, two RBIs) and Steen.
"It was like a roller coaster," Cassel said. "Even at 11-0, I knew there was no way it was going to end like that."
Seneca 11 06 030 4 - 24 17 4
Moorestown 7 03 310 0 - 14 18 3
WP: Rob Antoniewicz. LP: Dan Schurer. 2B: S-Ryan Williams 2, Rich Powelson 2, Mark Steen, Joe Banes; M-Nick Savino, Joey Frey, Jesse Fante. HR: S-Ryan Williams, Mark Steen, Gabe Santone 2.