Moon's spot in the WPIAL baseball playoffs only became official with an 8-7 win over South Park on Monday, but the Tigers preparation for the postseason began long before that.
Playing one of the toughest schedules in the WPIAL, head coach Dom Santeufemio's inexperienced team was forced to learn on the fly against teams like Quad-A No. 1 Seneca Valley, traditional power Blackhawk and section foe West Allegheny.
Under that pressure, the Tigers excelled, racking up a 15-4 overall record and clinching second place in Section 3-AAA with an 8-3 league mark ahead of yesterday's regular season finale against Montour.
The team picked up major wins along the way, including a split of two meetings with West Allegheny and a 4-3 victory at Seneca Valley, making the Tigers one of only two teams to beat the Raiders this year.
"Our exhibition schedule is brutal," Santeufemio said.
"We're the only team to beat West Allegheny and (North Allegheny) and us are the only two teams to beat Seneca Valley. We beat Steel Valley and Blackhawk, who are playoff teams, out of section."
The net result is a team ranked No. 4 in the latest Tribune-Review Class AAA rankings, despite an 8-4 loss last Thursday against Pine-Richland, another Quad-A school.
"We were hitting the ball well, but we were hitting it right to people," Santeufemio said. "That happens sometimes."
"When we beat Seneca Valley, who might be the No. 1 team in the state, they hit the ball right at us. Some days you get it and some days you don't. We're still sitting pretty good."
Handicapping the Tigers against Pine-Richland was a backlogged schedule, making the contest the sixth of seven games in 10 days. Because of mandatory pitching rest rules imposed by the PIAA, Santeufemio had to reach deep into his bullpen during the game, beginning with starter Mike Jeffries.
"I didn't want to lose this game, but you've got to win the section games first. I really couldn't throw anyone today," Santeufemio said.
Jeffries kept the Tigers in the game, allowing six runs in five innings. Only three of the runs were earned, and the sophomore pitcher helped his own cause with a single in the fifth inning, fueling Moon's lone scoring rally of the game.
Trailing 6-0 in the bottom of the fifth, Nick Berdine led off with a walk, but only after pulling a deep drive over the left field fence that flew just foul.
Jeffries followed with his single, moving Berdine to third, and Alex Knox put the Tigers on the scoreboard with an RBI single.
The rally nearly stalled when Ryan Busch hit into a double play, moving pinch runner Pat Baer to third and bringing catcher Ryan Suess to bat. The senior backstop kept the inning alive when he latched onto a fastball from Rams pitcher Phil Morrissette, making an impact on the scoreboard, quite literally.
Suess' home run caused a booming thud as it struck the metal scoreboard in left field, cutting the Rams' lead to 6-3. His teammates came out of the dugout to congratulate him as he reached home plate, but the Tigers' weren't through with the inning.
Steve Karaffa followed with a double, allowing Zak Schmidt to drive him home with a single, making the score 6-4. The next batter, Phil Bondi, hit a hard drive of his own, but it flew straight to the right fielder for the final out of the inning.
Santeufemio turned to his bullpen for the final two innings. Zach Mangan pitched the sixth and Schmidt threw the seventh, each allowing one run.
The Tigers were unable to score again, using predominantly pinch hitters late, as Santeufemio tried to get at-bats for most of his players.
Still, the coach was happy with his players, seeking only to add a little consistency. Then again, the veteran coach can't be too worried, as he compared this year's team to another young Moon squad.
"Without wanting to curse us, we look good for the future," Santeufemio said. "But I want to get these guys some playoff experience this year."
"This is the same kind of team we had in 2000, a real young team. That group ended up winning two state championships. We had two real good pitchers then, but we've got two good ones now that are pretty young (sophomores Brad Schnelle and Brian Flannery)."
For Pine-Richland, Morrissette threw the complete game on Thursday, allowing only the four earned runs in the fifth. He only struck out three Moon batters, as the Tigers made consistent contact throughout the game.
Mitch Elliott was the offensive star for the Rams, going 3-for-4 and coming up a home run short of the cycle. Steve Freehling had a solo homer for Pine-Richland.
With section play concluding yesterday, the Tigers will find out who they will open postseason play against on Friday, after the WPIAL's baseball committee's pairings meeting that day.