St. Anne’s-Belfield got a big hit from Alex Markopoulos and suddenly found itself within striking distance of Miller, trailing by a run in the top of the sixth.
But the Mavericks’ Lucas Knight shut the door on the mound in the seventh after Vince Dileonardo drove in a run with a single and scored on a wild pitch to give Miller some cushion in a 6-3 win over STAB.
Ethan Chenault struck out nine in five innings of work and didn’t actually allow a hit. The Saints’ sixth-inning spurt came on a dropped third strike and two-straight hit by pitches to load the bases. Chenault then walked in a run, giving way to Henry Hardie who gave up Markopoulos’ two-RBI single but managed to hold on to the lead with a pair of strikeouts. Knight then entered the game in the seventh and put the Saints away with a ground out and two strikeouts.
Chenault was also strong at the plate, helping his own cause with a 3-for-3 outing including an RBI. Hardie was similarly impressive there, going 2-for-3 with two RBI including a double. Laken Tignor posted a triple and scored twice from the No. 2 spot in the lineup.
STAB used six different pitchers throwing an inning each that combined for eight strikeouts but gave up nine walks and seven hits as well as five earned runs. Seven errors defensive didn’t help matters either. The Saints stayed in striking distance by helping force Miller to leave 12 on base.
Markopoulos had the Saints’ lone hit of the day, the two RBI single in the sixth that put the Saints within a run. Van Spinelli posted an RBI by drawing a walk.
The win pushes Miller to 8-4 overall, they’ll face Trinity Episcopal on the road Saturday while St. Anne’s looks to rebound on the road against Norfolk Academy the same day in a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m.
