PRINCETON JCT. — The way the West Windsor-Plainsboro High South and Ewing High varsity baseball teams came out swinging the bats Monday, it did not seem like either team was going to stop scoring. Their seesaw battle reached its peak in the fourth inning, then the host Pirates held on for a 14-10 victory. “We struggled in our first game this season, but now we’re on a winning streak,” WW-P South senior Matt Raeter said. “In our last two games, we’ve shown more confidence at the plate.” Raeter, the third of three brothers who have played baseball for the Pirates, was a big part of that production from his No. 5 spot in the batting order. The veteran first baseman delivered a two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the first inning to put head coach Joe Gambino’s squad in front after the Blue Devils had taken the lead in the top of the frame. When head coach David Angebranndt’s Ewing club put up another five runs in the top of the second, the Pirates answered right back with Raeter supplying a two-out, two-run single to cap a seven-run bottom of the frame. But even that 9-6 lead was not safe as the visitors scored three more runs off relief pitcher Henry Hamm in the third as Sam Leibowitz, Joey Andreas and Jacob Mignogna drove in runs to tie the game After sending 11 men to the plate in the second inning, WW-P South batted around again in the third, scoring five more times against freshman relief pitcher Michael Ordini on RBI triples from Thor Bernheisel and Xavier Rudisill around an infield hit from Bennett Siegel (3-for-4, three runs scored, three runs batted in) that also plated a run, ahead of a two-run single from Hamm, which gave the home side a 14-9 advantage. “Last year, we were very streaky,” said Raeter, who went 2-for-4 with a run scored and four RBIs. “So a big thing for us this season is to focus on consistency. I think we used the first game for getting through our nerves.” Though Ryan Greig, a junior who started on the mound before moving to first base, knocked in senior Connor Lane (three runs scored) with his third RBI of the contest in the fifth inning, the Blue Devils could not close the gap any further. “We have a lot of young players, so everything has to come together for us,” Greig said. “We still have to figure things out defensively. Some still need some varsity time, but we also have four returning starters. Even with two freshmen up the middle, we’ve been getting better every week.” Things got better down the stretch for both squads as Ewing’s Lane moved from the outfield to the mound to produce three scoreless innings. Brandon Aleman and Siegel combined to do the same in relief for WW-P South to end the game a lot quieter than it had begun. Ewing (0-3)                153      010    0    —    10  11  2 WW-PSouth(2-1)       275      000    x    —    14  12  3 2B: Tirado (E), Raeter, Rudisill (WWS); 3B: Bernheisel (WWS); RBIs: Leibowitz 2, Andreas 2, Mignogna 2, Greig 3, Tirado (E), Bernheisel, Siegel 3, Rudisill, Kasof, Raeter 2, Hamm 2 (WWS). WP — Hamm (1-0); LP — Ordini (0-1). ...read more read less