The picture, that idea of how good they could be, is beginning to take shape. It’s taken a few weeks, and more than a few games, but baseball is starting to look like the team they envisioned before the season.
Radnor took its second-straight game to even its record at 2-2 with a 7-3 victory over Harriton on Thursday. The Raiders were buoyed by the fine pitching of Kyle Von Hertsenberg and 11 hits.
The Red Raiders received multiple-hit games from senior third baseman Mark McGee-Pasceri (who had two hits and scored three runs, after homering against Penncrest in the previous game), outfielder Rob Collins, and Von Hertsenberg.
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It’s been a nice recovery from Radnor’s first two games, when the Red Raiders struggled offensively.
“We were hitting the ball hard the first two games, and we hung in with the two of the best teams in the league,” Collins said. “We had a good win against Penncrest and didn’t hit the ball well today. Not like we stroked the ball in the Penncrest game. It’s coming around and we’re taking advantage of opportunities.”
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Radnor jumped on younger Harriton by scoring three runs in each of the first two innings. That’s all Von Hertensenberg needed. He pitched seven full innings and struck out four against just one walk. He also gave up five hits, three to Harriton freshman Jake Rosenberg.
“They made contact, but I faced Harriton last year and I had motivation to pick up where I left off,” Von Hertensenberg said. “We’re looking at bigger things. We’re making good steps now. The Marple Newtown loss brought us down a little bit, and in the Strath Haven loss, we could have played better. We’ve come out with a sense of urgency. We’re picking it up every game.”
Radnor coach John McGillian put it succinctly—“We’re hitting. That’s the biggest difference. We’re more aggressive at the plate and Mark [McGee-Pasceri] is setting the tone. He started this game with a hard-hit single. This is starting to come around in all three phases, something we frequently talked about before the year. We knew we had the pitching and the defense, and once we got the offense started, things would happen.”
They sure are.
Now Radnor faces another big week, with games against Springfield, Lower Merion, and Haverford.
