Chris Goetz wasn’t looking for redemption for his first three unsuccessful at-bats and he wasn’t trying to be a hero. With runners at second and third with two outs in the top of the seventh of a tie game, the Moore Catholic second baseman just wanted to hit the ball hard and hope for the best.
“With men on base I try to be confident, don’t think about anything at the plate and get a good pitch to hit,” Goetz said.
Goetz did just that, driving home John Baggs with a single to help lift the Mavericks to a key 2-1 win against St. Peter’s at Clove Lake Park on Staten Island Tuesday afternoon.
“Sometimes Chris gets too anxious and he’s not patient enough,” Moore coach Nick Doscher said. “That time, he stayed back and hit the ball really hard.”
Moore Catholic (8-4), ranked No. 7 in the CHSAA by The Post, bounced back from a devastating loss to Monsignor Farrell Friday and remains in a tight race with St. Joseph by the Sea for second place in the CHSAA ‘AA’ Staten Island standings.
“After losing to Farrell the other day the way we did when we handed the game away, I was really impressed with the way they battled back today,” Doscher said.
Baggs led off the seventh with a double to right and was sacrificed to third on Shea Spitzbarth’s bunt. Pinch-hitter Rob Ortiz was hit by a pitch and Matt Kostalos flew out to shallow right.
That left it up to Goetz, Moore’s No. 3 hitter, who grounded out to first, flew out to center and struck out looking in his previous at-bats.
“I just wanted to keep battling back, not think of those three at-bats,” Goetz said. “I was hitting the ball hard to begin with it and I knew from the start I was confident, I knew I was going to get a pitch to hit and that pitch was close to the plate and I took a hack and hit the ball.”
While Goetz is credited with the game-winning RBI, Doscher said starter Dom Casella was as responsible for the win. The right-hander gave up seven hits in the first three innings and St. Peter’s had runners at second and third with one out in the second inning.
But Casella bore down, striking out Dan Low and Joe Flack to get out of the jam unscathed.
“Basically I just started throwing my breaking pitch and started getting ground balls, sometimes they were just big swings and misses for strike three which helped me out a lot,” Casella said.
Anthony Cecala drove home John Eberlein with an RBI-single to right in the first and Flack held the Mavericks at bay until the fourth inning when Frank Smith’s drove in Matt DiOrio with a double to center.
Flack allowed two earned runs on eight hits, striking out three with one walk.
“He’s only a sophomore and every game he pitches he gets better,” St. Peter’s coach John Eberlein said. “He’s got our only two wins and every time he’s out there he gives us a chance to win. The kids love playing behind him. He’s a bulldog.”
While St. Peter’s (2-11) is just playing out the remainder of its schedule after being eliminated from playoff contention last week, Moore Catholic has high aspirations for a deep playoff run and the Mavs want to close out the regular season strong.
“We’ve got to win every game and that’s what we’re going to try and do,” Casella said. “We’re going to come to the field, give it our all and hope for the best, hope to win.”