With an undefeated record and lofty national ranking, St. Rita is accustomed to taking the best shot its opponent has to offer.
Fenwick starting pitcher Quinn Snarskis was the latest to throw the kitchen sink at the Mustangs.
Snarskis, a St. Joseph’s College recruit, threw his slider for strikes and fired a fastball that reached 90 miles per hour. It still wasn’t enough to put a blemish on St. Rita’s season.
Tyler Halas won the pitchers’ duel by scattering three hits over 6 2/3 innings and St. Rita defeated host Fenwick 4-0 Wednesday in a Catholic League crossover.
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“That’s what we’re looking forward to: seeing those kinds of pitchers and that kind of competition,” said Halas, a Tennessee recruit.
Halas had four strikeouts and retired eight consecutive batters starting in the third inning for St. Rita (22-0, 6-0), which is ranked No. 3 in the nation per MaxPreps.
“It’s pretty wild,” Halas said. “Coach (Mike Zunica) always tells us not to think about it. It’s the team that’s third in the nation, the program.”
Halas added a first-inning triple and stole home to give St. Rita a 2-0 lead after Marty Bechina (1-for-2, walk) was caught in a rundown.
“That is a pretty set play,” Halas said. “I looked back at Marty and saw it was going to be a close play so I started hustling home.”
Leadoff man Danny Gleaves opened the scoring on an RBI single by Shane Peisker (Navy).
In the second inning, Gleaves doubled St. Rita’s lead with a two-run single that knocked in Estaban Martinez and Dominic Sarro. Gleaves said Fenwick’s Snarskis was one of the top pitchers the Mustangs have faced so far this season.
“We battled the whole game,” said Snarskis, who went the distance in allowing seven hits and three earned runs. “We applied the pressure, but it just didn’t go our way.”
Fenwick (9-5) opened the season 7-0 but dropped five of its last seven during a brutal stretch on the schedule. During that span, the Friars fell to powerhouse programs in Providence, Mount Carmel and Loyola, but defeated Brother Rice and St. Laurence.
“You always want to beat that top team,” Snarskis said. “We were coming into this game really positive. Unfortunately some balls didn’t fall. Some got caught on the track like Kevin Forde’s.”
With Jack Hendricks on first base after a leadoff walk to open the sixth, Forde hit a blast to right field that had RBI written all over it.
Gleaves had other ideas.
The junior flashed his speed in the outfield and managed to chase the ball down on the warning track.
“It’s tough getting the right jump because the wind might turn you around every once in a while,” Gleaves said. “You just gotta make sure you’re on your toes, that your head isn’t bobbing.”
Fenwick put two runners on base in the seventh inning after a two-out hit from Adam Williams, but Dan Budziak took the mound and got Hendricks to fly out to center.
“We have three great outfielders in the program, so that really helps us pitchers a lot,” Halas said.