PHILADELPHIA – For a team to succeed, it needs players to step up when called upon, and sophomore right-hander Joe Messina did just that on Monday afternoon.
When starting pitcher Joe Lafiora went down with an injury last week, the rest of the staff knew they were going to need to step up and fill that void going forward, and Messina will be one of the guys that will be relied upon the most.
Messina tossed a complete game and allowed just two earned runs on seven hits. He also walked two and struck out seven, as the Saints picked up their third win in a row with a 7-2 victory against the Patriots. It was Messina’s second career victory and first career complete game effort.
“Joe is a big time competitor out there on the mound and he showed that today,” Saints head coach Mike Zolk said. “He was pumped up to get the start opposite of [Tyler] Kehoe, so he knew how big this game was and as just a sophomore he is already one of our leaders and he led our team to a win today.”
After working through some jams early on, Messina was able to really find his groove in the fourth inning as he continued to get ahead in counts against the Patriots' hitters and limited them to just two hits, while also striking out five over the final four innings of the game.
Neumann-Goretti pitcher Joe Messina after the game. - PSD Photo by Jacob Guzdek
“Early on I struggled a little, but my offense had my back and was able to give me some good run support,” Messina said. “Then in the fourth inning that adrenaline got pumping knowing this was a big game for us, and I found my groove out there on the mound.”
The Patriots were able to get to Messina early as an RBI double off the bat of Cole Chesnet in the top of the first inning gave the Patriots a 1-0 lead.
But, that lead didn’t last for long as the Saints offense was able to come right back in the bottom half of the inning as their first three hitters got on to load up the bases. After lead-off hitter Colin Eiser was picked off at third base for the first out, clean-up hitter RJ McGettigan came to the plate and drilled a line drive to right field that was misplayed and allowed two runners to come around and score to give the Saints a 2-1 lead.
The Saints offense was right back at it again in the second inning, as Eiser and Aidan Baur delivered back-to-back RBI doubles to extend the Saints lead to 4-1. Although it could have been an even bigger inning as the ball that Baur hit appeared to clear the fence in right field, but was ruled a ground-rule double by the umpires.
With a 4-1 lead in hand, Messina ran into some trouble again in the third inning as the first three hitters for the Patriots got on in the inning, including an RBI single off the bat of Chesnet. Then with runners on second and third with nobody out, Baur was able to knock down a ground ball at third base and threw a strike to the plate to get Chesnet who was trying to score. Messina was then able to get a strikeout and a pop out to short to limit the damage and escape the jam.
Neumann-Goretti third baseman Aiden Baur after the game. Went 2-3 with a walk, stolen base, and an RBI. - PSD Photo by Jacob Guzdek
The Saints got that run back in the bottom of the third, as Steve Pizza hit an RBI double to extend their lead back to 5-2. The Saints were able to chase Carroll’s sophomore starting pitcher and South Carolina commit Tyler Kehoe after just three innings. Kehoe just couldn’t find his command and ended his outing with allowing five runs on five hits while walking four.
“With a big name like that on the hill it gets our hitters fired up too,” Zolk said. “They aren’t going to be intimidated by anybody we face and today our hitters did a good job of being patient with Kehoe having some command issues and got in fastball counts and were able to take advantage and drive some pitches.”
NG vs. Carroll
The Saints then tacked on two more runs in the fourth inning on a bases loaded hit-by-pitch and an RBI groundout to give themselves a 7-2 lead.
Eiser, Baur, and senior shortstop Jered Healey, the top three hitters in the Saints order, all had two hits apiece.
The Saints improved to 3-3 on the season with the victory and will be back in action on Wednesday as they go on the road to square off against Bonner-Prendie. The Patriots fell to 6-2 with the loss and will be back in action on Wednesday against Archbishop Wood.