HAVERFORD, PA- Shane Muntz was hitting everything yesterday afternoon. Anything that stood in his way, it was getting plunked.
The bad part about that was, before he was able to get eight outs, the Malvern Prep junior hit five different batters while pitching. The good part superseded the bad, and in a big way.
After hitting a three-run home run in the first inning, Muntz turned a tight game into a romp when he smashed a grand slam in the seventh. Muntz’s career-best seven RBI were more than enough to propel visiting Malvern Prep to a 9-4 victory in the Inter-Academic League opener for both squads.
“I have had more in little league, but definitely not in high school,” said Muntz.
“It’s a huge win for us. Coach (Fred) Hilliard put a huge emphasis on getting that first league win and not falling behind. Everyone now has to chase us in the league, and that’s what you want.”
The Friars (11-1), who also received solo shots from junior Matt Daller and senior Cam Williams, jumped to a comfortable 4-0 lead in the first inning.
After the Fords (10-3) closed to within 4-1 in the second, Malvern regained its four-run advantage with a run in the third.
In the home fourth, Haverford junior Bryan Hyland’s two-run bomb helped close the gap to 5-4.
The Fords were unable to solve sophomore relief pitcher Bill Corcoran. The sophomore retired all six batters he faced between the sixth and seventh innings.
MALVERN PREP vs. HAVERFORD SCHOOL IN LEAGUE OPENER (photos by John Knebels)
Meanwhile, Muntz, who moved from the mound to behind the plate after being removed from the diamond in the third inning, took care of the rest.
“The win was definitely an important one,” said Malvern sophomore Brady Devereux.
“It's always hard getting the first win in the Inter-Ac and we knew that starting off with a loss is extremely difficult to come back from. With that being said, it was crucial that we left Haverford with a win.”
Senior teammate Chance DiFebbo agreed.
“It was our first league game of the year and we didn't want to start out behind with a loss,” he said. “It's better to be on top and have teams beat each before they get to us. We stuck with the game plan Coach Hilliard had for us. Everyone was up and into the game.”
(John Knebels can be reached at jknebels@gmail.com.)