High school baseball: Blake Moore strikes out 14, Keystone homers three times in 13-3 win over Columbia (original) (raw)
Through 3 1/2 innings of Keystone’s 13-3 win over Columbia on May 4, the two teams were locked in a tight, lightning-interrupted battle.
Columbia took an early lead with Carter Duley scampering home on a throwing error, but the game was stopped in the bottom of the first.
Columbia takes the lead in the first after a throwing error, but Moore gets his second K of the inning to limit the damage to one run.@MJournalSports @chsball @KHSCatsbaseball pic.twitter.com/7a6YHnCQvh
— Will Cunningham (@willocunningham) May 4, 2026
“On a Monday, especially coming off prom, I had no idea what I was going to get,” said Columbia coach Dan Durante. “I try to talk as much as I can about being as aggressive as we can in the first few innings, and they did that. We were aggressive on the basepaths and manufactured some things.”
After the lightning delay, Keystone responded with a walk from starter Blake Moore, and a two-run blast from star shortstop Ryan Younglas, his area-leading fifth home run of the season.
Ryan Younglas crushes his fifth home run of the year to put Keystone up 2-1 in the first.@MJournalSports @KHSCatsbaseball pic.twitter.com/aFQnmH4FAK
— Will Cunningham (@willocunningham) May 4, 2026
“I was ahead in the count, so I was looking for my pitch to hit, and hit if far,” Younglas said. “It was great to get the energy going after that long break. Everyone was down for a bit, so it was great to get them up again and get it going.”
Both teams continued to keep the energy up after returning to the field, with the Raiders tying the game in the second thanks to more aggressive baserunning.
Once again, however, the Wildcats responded with the long ball, with Luke Devore going deep with another two-run home run to make it 4-2.
Keystone gets its second two-run homer in as many innings, this one from Luke Devore, his fourth of the season, to lead 4-2 in the second.@MJournalSports @KHSCatsbaseball pic.twitter.com/FMNDMWqWhr
— Will Cunningham (@willocunningham) May 4, 2026
I had a good round of batting practice,” Devore said. “And it was senior night, and I love these seniors, so it just means everything to me to be able to help them out.”
After each team scored a run in the third, the Wildcats led 5-3, but the game swung completely in the fourth.
Moore struck out the side in the top of the inning, the first scoreless half-inning of the game, then led off the bottom half with a double off a new Columbia pitcher.
Moore completes the first 1-2-3 inning of the night, striking out the side in the fourth. He is up to 11 for the game.@MJournalSports @KHSCatsbaseball pic.twitter.com/zUB4NuSdg5
— Will Cunningham (@willocunningham) May 4, 2026
He scored on a wild pitch a few batters later, then a walk and a pair of singles loaded the bases for Devore, who crushed a grand slam to tie Younglas for the area lead with his fifth home run of the season.
Devore absolutely destroys his second home run of the night, this one a grand slam. He is now tied with Younglas for the area lead with 5.@MJournalSports @KHSCatsbaseball pic.twitter.com/o81KSBTHqT
— Will Cunningham (@willocunningham) May 4, 2026
“It felt good,” Devore said. “I saw the bases loaded, and I looked to Tucker (Webb), and he just looked at me and pointed over the fence. So I had a feeling.”
The Wildcats got two more runs on a Raiders error, then Moore drove in the eighth and final run of the inning with his second double of the frame to make it 13-3.
“Offense isn’t an issue for us,” said Keystone coach Bert Fitzgerald. “They took the smart approach and threw a guy who had a nice off-speed. That can be a little trouble for us sometimes, but the guys hit great and we had great baserunning.”
After Keystone’s fourth-inning explosion, Moore returned to the mound to finish off an excellent complete game.
Moore gets a pair of strikeouts to get out of a jam in the second, but Columbia did tie the game on a double steal.@MJournalSports @KHSCatsbaseball @chsball pic.twitter.com/DmzJ7KVSBp
— Will Cunningham (@willocunningham) May 4, 2026
He struck out three more in the final frame to give him 14 for the game, and he recorded each of the final 13 outs of the game on strikeouts.
Moore strikes out three more in the fifth, giving him 14, and that’ll do it.@MJournalSports @KHSCatsbaseball @chsball pic.twitter.com/4kxHGdJEZ5
— Will Cunningham (@willocunningham) May 4, 2026
“It was the slider and curveball, a lot of that,” Moore said. “I was throwing fastballs, and even with misses, I threw the slider off that, and it’s basically untouchable. And seeing the other guys succeed and seeing those home runs really fired me up.”
“He was far and away our number one coming into the season,” Fitzgerald said of Moore. “He had a few control issues, but tonight he just got after it. His confidence is back, his speed is deadly, and he’s a gamer.”
The score (May 4)
Keystone 13, Columbia 3