Cherokee holds off Moorestown

Jordan Glover enjoyed his leisurely, lonely trot around the bases after his solo home run in the sixth inning.

But the Cherokee senior liked the company of his teammates in the middle of a big rally in the second inning even more.

"That was good to see," Glover said of Cherokee's 10-batter inning that set the tone for a 7-6 victory over Moorestown in a nonleague baseball game on Thursday. "Everybody was hitting their pitch."

Glover, a senior centerfielder, was 3 for 4 with an RBI single in the second and a blast over the center-field fence for the eventual winning run in the sixth.

Senior third baseman Casey Coyle was 2 for 4, and senior shortstop Shane Garrett was 1 for 2, reached base three times, and scored two runs for Cherokee (5-2), which won its third in a row and fifth in six games.

"We're a team that started slow," Chiefs coach Marc Petragnani said. "But these guys want to win, and they're learning how to win close games, tough games, against good competition."

Senior shortstop Andrew Lisa hit a two-run homer, and junior designated hitter Drew Pederson cracked a three-run homer for Moorestown (3-5).

"We're playing good baseball at times," Moorestown coach Bill Donoghue said. "But we have to put together seven innings of good baseball."

The game matched teams that were in The Inquirer's South Jersey preseason Top 10 but dropped out of the rankings after slow starts.

"I think we have it going now," Glover said. "We're working hard in practice, and everybody is getting good cuts at the plate."

Pitchers from both teams struggled with command, as Moorestown walked 10 and hit a batter and Cherokee walked six and hit a batter.

Cherokee's five-run rally in the second featured RBI singles by Glover, Coyle, and Zach Ellin. The Chiefs also took advantage of two walks, an error, and two wild pitches.

Lisa gave Moorestown some life with a drive over the 340-foot sign in left-center in the fourth, cutting the lead to 5-3. But Garrett walked and scored in the bottom of the inning, and Glover drove a first-pitch fastball over the 370-foot sign in center leading off the bottom of the sixth.

"I didn't even know it was out," Glover said. "I was running as fast as I could, and the first-base coach told me to slow down, that it was out."

Moorestown battled back in the seventh as Joey Frey doubled, Jon Michnick walked, and Pederson delivered a blast over the fence in left-center. The Quakers got the tying run aboard on a single by Tim Miller, but couldn't bring him around.

"That was encouraging," Donoghue said of the Quakers' late rally. "But we have to finish that."

Moorestown   1002003 - 682

Cherokee   050101x - 771

WP: Sean Kelly. LP: Jon Michnick. 2B: M-Joey Frey. HR: M-Andrew Lisa, Drew Pederson; C-Jordan Glover.