PLYMOUTH — When Xaverian starting pitcher Pat Rhodes took the mound in the bottom of the first inning against Plymouth North, he had a 6-0 lead to play with.

The immense run support was more than enough as the junior pitcher threw a complete game on only 78 pitches and steered the Hawks toward an 8-1 victory.

“The offense jumped out early today which made my job easier as I just had to throw strikes,” Rhodes said. “The defense made the plays all day, I just had to throw strikes and handle myself. It’s much easier to pitch with a lead.”

This was Xaverian’s first contest since a 3-1 loss against Catholic Conference rival BC High last Wednesday. Additionally, the Hawks had various events, including graduation, between these games and head coach Gerry Lambert was pleased that his team still had some juice.

“I was a little worried we would be flat today,” Lambert said. “We came up with a couple of big hits and grabbed momentum early. Pat Rhodes was excellent on the mound today and our defense made the difference. We made all the routine plays and even stole a few hits with great plays.”

Jack O’Neill, Charlie Comella and Jackson Morse drew consecutive walks to start the game, and an error brought the first run of the game for the Hawks. Still, Luke Douglas stepped up to the plate needing a clutch hit and he delivered, smacking a single to make it 3-0.

“I was just looking for a fastball I could hit,” Douglas said. “The offense got going for us in the first inning which was good because we haven’t hit that well the whole season.”

Xaverian would tack on three more, but a leadoff single from Matt Nardone showed that the Eagles were not going to go down easily. Rhodes induced a ground ball that secured a clutch double play.

“We have probably one of the best, if not the best, infields in the MIAA,” Rhodes said. “My mentality in that situation isn’t to strike out the next guy, it’s to get a ground ball and try to get a double play. It has happened to me plenty of times this year and happened again today.”

Xaverian would add additional runs in the fourth and fifth innings and the Eagles got one in the bottom in the fifth. However, Rhodes and the Hawks defense shut the door on any additional offense for the Eagles.

Douglas said that the team is riding high heading to the postseason and hopeful to do damage.

“I think our pitching and defense are really good and leading into the tournament that’s good,” Douglas said. “We do a lot of little things that can change the game and our hitting will be there.”