Moore unloaded a long grand slam home run on the way to driving in six runs as the Cavaliers downed South Rowan 12-5 in a nonconference high school baseball game here Wednesday.

“It was definitely the best hitting game of my career,” said the senior, a left-handed pitcher but a right-handed hitter after 2-for-6 performance that accounted for half his team’s runs.

Moore, one of the top prep left-handed pitchers in the state, has already signed with the University of North Carolina. Yesterday, however, he was playing first base.

“He can hit. We never needed him to hit until this year, and this year we needed every hit we could get,” said North coach Bill Kesler, whose Cavaliers improved to 5-3.

South held a 3-0 lead when Moore stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and one out in the third inning. Moore blasted his first career homer over the center field fence (approximately 350 feet away) and off the roof of South’s weight room.

“He can hit them a mile; there’s no doubt about that. When he hits them, they’re hit,” said Kesler.

How far did he hit it?

“I have no idea. It got out: 300 or 470, they all count as one either way,” said Moore.

“It still had some go in it (when the ball hit the roof). That took 40 feet off it when it hit that building. It was still going hard,” said Kesler.

“I’ve seen some balls fly out of here. I’ve seen some clear the weight room,” said Fink. “It was a shot. I would say right there the fence is probably about 350. It was 380ish. I’ll give him 390.”

The South coach added,“It happened at a great time for them and an awful time for us. When it goes from being 3-0 to 4-3, I think that was kind of the deciding factor in the game.”

Moore came up with the bases loaded again in the fourth inning.

“My second at-bat with the bases loaded, I was just thinking, ‘Hit it hard somewhere.’ I didn’t want to end the inning with a double play. I was just thinking, ‘Hit it hard in there somewhere and at least get that guy (Aaron Rimer) in from third,’ and I just hit a little line drive over the shortstop’s head, and it fell in,” said the lanky Moore.

The solid liner drove in Rimer and Brad Canipe for a 7-3 lead and ended the day for South’s starting pitcher, left-hander Chris Morris (2-1). Four errors by the Raiders led to five unearned runs off Morris.

North went on to score seven runs that inning, on only three hits.

Right-hander Nathan Woodburn (1-1), the winning pitcher, was also hurt by errors (five) that led to four unearned runs. The senior pitched seven-hit ball, walking five batters and striking out eight before Tad Ogg came on to get the last out in the seventh inning.

“I thought Nathan pitched real good.If we turn that perfect double play ball in the first inning, they don’t score there. There in the last inning, he started tiring out a little. He threw a lot of pitches more than probably I wanted him to. Until then, he pitched real well. He could have easily had a shutout going,” said Kesler.

Kesler made a reference to a grounder hit back up the middle by South’s Dan Hoffmann with one out and runners at first and second in the opening inning. North shortstop Ogg fielded the ball, then threw to second, where second baseman Eric Mowery dropped it. South went on to take a 3-0 lead with only one hit, Ronnie Shore’s single.

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