“I just try to do what’s best for the team,” said Moe, who reached base three times. “I want to try to make us better.”
He certainly did against Gabrielino (0-2). The Eagles had no answer in stopping Moe, who later had a sacrifice fly during St. Francis’ 10-run sixth inning.
“He’s been working real hard,” said Esquival, who saw starting pitcher Joey Malham give up one hit in five innings to earn the victory. “He’s our backup catcher, but I’ve got to find a spot for him.
“Three times he came up with runners in scoring position and he did a pretty good job of getting the bat on the ball. That’s all you can ask.”
Moe came through with a one-out single to score JP Nolan to make it 1-0 in the second. In the third, Moe lined an 0-2 pitch to drive in a pair of runs to make it 3-0.
“With two outs, I was trying to make contact and force them to make a play,” Moe said. “I got a curveball on that 0-2 pitch.
“I was expecting it. If the pitch is slow and away, just go the other way.”
The Golden Knights, who qualified for the CIF Southern Section Division II playoffs after taking third in the Mission League last season, escaped a couple of jams.
In the bottom of the second, the Eagles loaded the bases with one out against Malham (1-0). On a 1-0 pitch, Malham, a right-hander, induced Michael Pulciano to hit into a 3-2-3 double play to end the threat.
“That was a huge double play,” said Esquival, whose team opened the tournament Friday with a 9-3 road victory against La Salle. “It’s a close game, and he kept battling.”
St. Francis got a two-run double from Dave Hubinger to make it 5-0 in the fifth.
The Golden Knights received two hits apiece from Moe, TJ Armand, Mark Saatzer and Andrew Yu to highlight a 14-hit attack.
St. Francis will next take part in another tournament road game against Pasadena at 3:15 p.m. today.
Get in touch CHARLES RICH covers sports. He can be reached at (818) 637-3228 or charles.rich@latimes.com.
