Fast start propels Prep baseball over Fenwick

The St. John’s Prep baseball team was held to just three hits by Bishop Fenwick’s Kevin Church on Saturday morning at Gibbons Field.Fortunately for the Eagles – and unfortunately for Church and the Crusaders – two of those hits would lead to three first-inning runs as the Prep held on for a 3-0 win.”Fenwick is a good team and Church is a good pitcher,” St. John’s coach Pat Yanchus said. “It was good that we took advantage in the first inning when (Church) was having a little trouble because we didn’t get much after that.”It was a pitcher’s duel most of the way as St. John’s Brandon Bingel worked his way in and out of a few jams over his five innings, but held the Crusaders to only three hits.Church also settled down after his first-inning struggles, allowing the Prep (11-4) only one hit over the next five innings.Fenwick had the game’s first threat as Alex Morsey and Dave Ruggiero led off the game with back-to-back hits. They were sacrificed up 90 feet before Bingel got the next two batters to end the inning.The Eagles then took advantage of a walk and an error that extended the bottom of the first to strike against Church with two outs as Dillon Gonzalez made it 1-0 with a single before Sean Patrikas’ 2-run hit extended the gap to 3-0.After that, baserunners would be few and far between for both squads.Bingel surrendered three walks but was able to tap dance out of trouble a couple of times before giving way to Pat Connaughton in the sixth inning. Church, meanwhile, worked around two walks thanks to slick defense behind him.Connaughton would allow a hit in both the sixth and seventh innings but was able to get the save.