By MATT SCHUCKMAN

Herald-Whig Sports Writer

In time, Quincy High School baseball coach Randy Mettemeyer believes his team will learn to seize the moment.

Quincy Notre Dame already knows how.

The Raiders finished off a season-opening doubleheader sweep Saturday of the Blue Devils with a five-run, sixth-inning rally that led to a 9-5 victory at the QHS field. QND won the opener 2-1 by limiting QHS to one run when it had the bases loaded with no outs in the sixth.

"Everybody did their job," QND second baseman Brendan Koren said. "We got down a couple of times, but we knew how to come back."

The key is never to panic.

QHS parlayed a lead-off single in the fifth inning by Nathan Moulton and a walk to Matt VonderHaar into a pair of runs for a 5-4 lead. Trailing for the second time in the game, QND quickly responded by getting its first two hitters on base.

Up stepped Koren, who missed the sign to bunt and instead cueballed a double down the right-field line that kicked up chalk and drove in Brett Cramsey and Joe Wade for a 6-5 edge.

Blaise Haxel and Matt Welding followed with hits as QND tacked on three more runs.

"It's good to see the bats were waking up," said Koren, who went 3 for 6 in the doubleheader. "We haven't gotten outside much to hit, and for some of these guys, it was their first time hitting. We're going to get a lot better at hitting."

The Blue Devils need to improve offensively, too.

Limited to just one hit in the opener, QHS had an opportunity to erase a 2-0 deficit in the sixth inning when the first three hitters walked. However, a pop-up on the infield and back-to-back strikeouts kept QHS from scoring more than one run.

"We showed some good signs," QHS shortstop Levi Lockett said. "We battled back a few times, but we just didn't capitalize on the chances we had."

The Blue Devils left 16 runners on base overall, including 10 in the second game.

"We had a great opportunity," Mettemeyer said. "Hopefully, the next time around, we take advantage of it."

And they have to take advantage of solid pitching.

Nathan Moulton pitched four quality innings in the opener, allowing five hits, while striking out five and walking two. Zach Smith followed with three solid innings, allowing just one hit.

Kevin Wolf followed suit in the second game, allowing only one earned run in four innings.

"I'm really pleased with some of our pitchers," Mettemeyer said.

And he walked away impressed with QND's staff. Haxel won the opener with three flawless innings, striking out six straight and eight overall. Meanwhile, Brandon Miles picked up a pair of saves, striking out six of the seven batters he faced.

"We don't have dominant guys in the pen, but we have guys who can come in and get outs," Martin said.

-- mschuckman@whig.com/221-3366

And they have guys who seize the day.

"They're a good club, and when you make a mistake, they make you pay for it," Mettemeyer said. "That's the thing we have to work on over the next month and get that out of our system in time for the Western Big Six. That is the kind of team we're going to see every Saturday."