Lining the baseball diamond in Chimacum after a week off due to Spring Break, the East Jefferson Rivals faced the Charles Wright Tarriers, winning 9-1.

Rivals pitcher Brody Moore was red-hot on the mound in last week’s matchup, getting strikeout after strikeout to stymie the Charles Wright batters all game.

It was “a really good pitching performance from Brody Moore tonight, which really kept the other team in check, which helped us,” said EJ Head Coach Ben Lozano.

“We swung the bats OK, but overall, it was a good victory and we got a lot of players into the game, so that’s always nice,” the coach added.

In the top of the opening inning, Moore immediately got busy, striking out three Tarrier players with his potent fastball pitch. One Charles Wright runner slipped through the seams to get a run on the board to make it 1-0.

The Rivals had a slow start in the first inning and couldn’t manage any runs, although Owen Thornton earned a base hit.

In the second inning, Moore did what he does best, striking out another three batters to keep the score as-is. EJ couldn’t manage any runs in the second, either.

Another great inning from Moore and the Rivals infield players held Charles Wright from adding any runs to the Tarriers’ total.

EJ’s batters found their form in the bottom of the third inning. Nathan Nisbet crossed the plate for a run after a base hit and Sean Jones scored a run after a perfect base hit from Aaron Glanz.

Going into the fourth, the Rivals were up 2-1. Moore gained another two strikeouts and Thornton caught a throw at first base to keep the Tarriers at bay.

The Rivals really heated up in the fifth inning, starting with a base hit from Marcus Ritch. A successful steal to second base from Ritch upped the pressure on Charles Wright.

Then, a solid base hit from Nate Nayler led to an RBI as Ritch scored a run. Nayler, Ryan Popp, and Chris Fair each added more runs to the scoreboard, and a well-placed hit added two RBIs for Jones. Catcher Cash Holmes got on base, then performed a sacrifice out to get another run on the board.

The score was 8-1 at the end of the fifth inning with EJ soundly in front.

Moore continued to unlock his fastball and the Rivals added one more run to finish as 9-1 victors.

“I thought that we played pretty good,” Lozano said. “We didn’t run the bases as well as I’d like to see, but we’ll just have to work on that.”

Spring Break was a much needed hiatus for Lozano and the squad, giving some players time to prepare for the second half of the season.

“I think over the Spring Break … a couple of players were able to heal up. We have Cash Holmes back doing our catching now; he was really missed and it’s nice to have him back on the field,” he said.

“I’m looking forward to having a better second half of the season. I think everyone’s expecting that,” Lozano said.

The coach highlighted some of his players’ solid performances on the night, adding that Moore’s pitching “was great to see.”

“Peter Giddens came in and caught the last little bit. He’s a freshman catcher and we thought he did really well tonight,” Lozano said. “Owen Thornton had to come in [as a pitcher] and close out the game for us, and he’s been throwing very well and also doing a great job at the plate for us the whole season long.”

Lastly, the coach congratulated Fair for a superb snatch at third in the later innings.

“Chis Fair had a really nice leaping catch out there at third. His cat-like reflexes came in there,” he said, smiling.

EJ faced Quilcene High on Friday, April 15, winning 14-2 against the Rangers.