Making his second start of the spring, Gabe McCracken was feeling pretty good.
As long as the Audubon right-hander could maintain his focus and ignore the outside noise, he was more than confident he’d get the job done.
“Just ignoring their dugout. Their dugout’s always been loud, they’re always loud guys,” McCracken said of rival Haddonfield.
McCracken struck out six and scattered three hits over five innings Monday and the Green Wave hit a pair of home runs to defeat visiting Haddonfield, 6-2, in a Colonial Liberty matchup.
The senior struck out at least one in all but one inning, fanning two in the first and second frames. He also ended both innings with Ks.
“My arm felt great, so I knew that I was just going to keep throwing strikes and battle. That’s what I did. All I want to do is just keep the boys behind me going, let them hit ground balls because I know they’ll make the plays. I really have no stress every time I’m pitching.”
McCracken improved to 2-0, also defeating West Deptford. He’s fanned 13 batters, walked four and given up eight hits. Most importantly, he has yet to allow an earned run.
“He struggled a little early but then he found it, and once he finds it …,” longtime Audubon coach Rich Horan said of Monday’s effort. “He’s a top-line pitcher for us.”
Audubon (5-1) erased a 1-0 deficit with a pair of runs in the fourth. The Green Wave capitalized on two errors and three hits, with Lance Furness collecting an RBI single and Josh Nolan hitting a sacrifice fly to left field.
They then opened things up with four runs in the sixth - all with two outs.
Conor Chester hit his first career home run to left field, with Rutgers commit Tyler Wiltsey adding a three-run blast to dead center.
“I looked up and saw that he kept running back. Then it hit off the track,” Wiltsey said. “When you see it bounce up, it’s a good sign.”
Haddonfield (3-1) cut into its deficit in the seventh as James Rowe had a two-out RBI single. Jackson Gayer led the Bulldawgs with two hits, while Dan Keenan added a double.
Expectations are high that this could be a special season for Audubon. With 13 seniors on the roster - a host of players winning three-straight Little League district titles during their time together - this group doesn’t lack experience.
“Hopefully we can put it together one last time,” Wiltsey said.
Said Horan: “This group has been together for a while now. The seniors have bought in and I can make moves now with these kids because they’re not going to complain.”
The N.J. High School Sports newsletter now appearing in mailboxes 5 days a week. Sign up now and be among the first to get all the boys and girls sports you care about, straight to your inbox each weekday. To add your name, click here.
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.
Kevin Minnick covers South Jersey baseball. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @kminnicksports