Haverford Dominates in Win Over Conestoga

Pictured is Haverford High Schools varsity baseball team Captain Simon Curry and longtime Haverford Baseball friend, Sonny DiMartini.

Pictured is Haverford High School’s varsity baseball team Captain Simon Curry and longtime Haverford Baseball friend, Sonny DiMartini.

Thomas Mann, Contributor

 
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Haverford High School’s varsity baseball team took on the Conestoga Pioneers on Wednesday, March 27 in its first away game of the season. The game was important for both teams. Conestoga played its first game of the season, and Haverford looked to beat the Pioneers for the first time in three years.

The Fords went down quietly in the first inning, as Conestoga’s starting pitcher Aiden Lexow surrendered one hit and left one man on the base. Haverford’s starting pitcher Adam Stuck did the same and left one man on the base as the game proceeded to the second inning.

Haverford’s third baseman Will Higson led off the second inning with a single to the center field. Catcher Paul Denman followed that up by walking, and Thomas Zukowski pinch-ran for Denman. Stuck and Brian Collins struck out in Haverford’s next two at-bats. With two outs, Simon Curry provided a timely hit that scored both Higson and Zukowski, giving the Fords a 2-0 lead early.

The next two innings were uneventful, with both teams being shut out by Stuck and Lexow.

In the fifth inning, Conestoga’s first baseman, Christian Moesler, doubled to the right-center field to score Conestoga’s first and only two runs of the game; this knotted the game up at 2.

Haverford responded in the top of the sixth inning by scoring a run on an error by the Pioneers’ second baseman, Jody Durante.

Dan Kelleher came in to pitch for the Fords in the sixth inning. He surrendered no runs and took one hit to strand their only man on the base.

Conestoga also changed pitchers, sending Christian Moesler to the mound in the top of the seventh inning. Haverford had a huge inning, thanks to the pitching change.  It scored four runs on five hits, ballooning the lead to 7-2 in their favor.

Senior Captain Pat Lindner said after the game, “We felt a little bit dejected after giving up the lead in the fifth inning, but we were able to rally in the fifth and sixth to come out on top. I think this is a huge win for us this year, and we just need to keep working and getting better.”

Kelleher closed the game in the seventh inning, sending the Pioneers to the bench in 1-2-3 order. The final score was 7-2 in Haverford’s second win of the season, and its first win against Conestoga since 2016.

Pitcher Adam Stuck was also positive about the win but looked ahead to the upcoming season. “It’s a big statement win that lets the league know that we’re here to stay. We still have work to do if we want to be serious contenders this year. It starts with a win against Ridley on Monday.”

Haverford will play against Penn Wood High School on Friday, March 29 while Conestoga will play against Unionville High School on Thursday, March 28 in search of its first win of the season.

 

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