Prep Baseball Report

VA/DC Scout Blog: Gonzaga at St. Paul VI


John Nolan
NOVA Scouting Coordinator

Follow @PBRVirginiaDC 
Facebook + Instagram

 

 

Last Wednesday saw Gonzaga travel to St. Paul VI for a important late-season WCAC matchup. Both teams went with their top arms in the game, Gonzaga starting senior righty Bryson Moore (Virginia) and Paul VI going with junior righty Logan Eisenreich (Virginia Tech). Gonzaga was able to open up a 4-0 lead in the top of the first, taking advantage of a few walks and a perfectly placed and timed hit and run before getting a few clutch hits to fall in.

Moore was dominant early and for most of the game, Eisenreich settled in after the first and kept Paul VI in range, but the bats couldn't muster much against Moore. The Panthers had a few threats in the middle to late innings that could have been the makings of a comeback, but Moore was always able to come up with a key strikeout. Paul VI did finally get on the board in the seventh, but ultimately Moore was the story of the game, going the distance and allowing just 4 hits while striking out 11 in a 6-1 Gonzaga win. 

 

Gonzaga

 

Bryant James SS / Gonzaga, VA / 2026

James is a Duke commit and has a lanky frame with a ton of projection left. Very twitchy athlete with easy explosive actions. Played second in the game, will likely move to short next year. Made a few athletic plays that were off schedule, arm is loose and is already average to slightly above. At the plate, it is a very simple swing from the right side. He short to contact and keeps hands inside, explosive wrist action and good extension through the ball. Has some whip in his bat and the ball jumps off of it. Showed a gap to gap approach with already present gap power, plenty more that he has a chance to access in the future. Also showed pretty advanced barrel feel for a freshmen. On the barrel three times in four at-bats, and Eisenreich is a tough assignment. A ton to like about James and he is going to be a fun one to watch for the next three years.

Bryson Moore RHP / 3B / Gonzaga, VA / 2023

Moore is a Virginia commit and one of the top senior arms in Virginia/DC. He has an athletic frame with some strength present. Drop and drive delivery, closes off some as he strides out, creating some deception. Throws from a lower three-quarters arm slot with a longer loose arm action. Throws with some intent and has some rhythm to his delivery. Fastball was 89-92 on the day, pitch has a bit of armside run when he throws to gloveside, but also got some tough late cut when he went to glove side. Didn't seem to be on purpose, just kind of happened. Showed two distinctly different breaking balls, both very high raw spin pitches. Slider was his most-used pitch, with late tight 10/4 break to it at 81-82, showed ability to throw it for strikes and off the plate to get swing and misses. Curveball was more 11/5 with bigger power break at 72-75. Buried that inside on a lefty's back foot a few times, which was impressive. Threw a very breaking ball heavy mix, using offspeed almost to set up fastball. 

 

 

 

 

Paul VI

 

Logan Eisenreich RHP / OF / Paul VI, VA / 2024

Eiesenreich is a Virginia Tech commit with a taller long athletic frame. Drop and drive delivery, he also closes off as he strides out to a slightly closed landing. Throws from a high three-quarters arm slot, stabs long but then shortens up his arm action to a short quick one. Drives off his back side explosively and finishes his pitches with intent. Fastball was 88-92, he did touch a single 93 in the first inning, pitch has downward angle and some late armside run to it. Also rides a bit when he throws it at the top of the zone. Showed two offspeed pitches, his primary is a true slider with late 10/4 break at 80-83, pitch is best when thrown off the plate to draw swings, but he can throw it for strikes. Curveball with bigger 11/5 break 71-74, more of a throw for strikes pitch now. Also flashed a few change-ups in the 77-81 range. Had a rough first inning with some walks, a hit-and-run, and a flare leading to a long 4-run inning, but he did a good job of refocusing and coming out strong in the second, and was pretty good afterwards. Velocity mostly held too, despite the long first inning. Unfortunately, pitching opposite Moore, that first inning was enough to give Gonzaga the win. 

Alexander Peltier OF / SS / Paul VI, VA / 2024

Peltier is an East Carolina commit and has an athletic frame. Has just about finished his transition to the outfield where his speed really plays and he can cover a lot of ground. At the plate, he has a very short swing, working downhill to contact as a line drive hitter with an up the middle approach, mostly looking to put the ball in play and use his speed. He has the strength and batspeed to drive the ball, but will need to start generating some more lift and carry to do so. Also, had a tough time in his early at-bats with Moore's breaking stuff, but did a good job of making him pay in his last at-bat when he got a fastball up.

Tyler Russ RHP / 1B / Paul VI, VA / 2024