An aspect of track and field has infiltrated the Whitehall baseball team this season, and it shows no signs of abating anytime soon.

You see, they're all racing to get to the bat rack. Whenever an opposing pitcher comes into view, the team makes a collective beeline to the bat rack, making sure they can get their hacks in before the game is called because of darkness like it was against Nazareth last week.

Opposing pitchers aren't too happy, though. The Zephs have scored 34 runs through four games, including Monday's win against William Allen. During that span they've also collected 37 hits, as their offense has paved the way to a perfect record.

Their offensive prowess was on display Monday afternoon against the visiting Canaries, banging out 12 hits en route to a 9-6 win, their second Eastern Pennsylvania Conference win this season. They're averaging 8.5 runs so far this year, and those seeds were sewn once they returned from their annual spring trip.

"Down in Myrtle [Beach], when we started, we weren't really swinging the bat, we were taking a lot of strikes, but they're aggressive right now," said manager Shaun O'Boyle. "And we're finding out we have some pretty good hitters."

Their aggression at the plate was on full display against Allen. They jumped on the Canaries in the bottom of the first, striking for two runs. They didn't let up, scoring two more runs in their next two at bats, extending their lead to 6-2 after three innings.

Allen then produced their own two-run inning in the top of the fourth, and looked ready to cut further into Whitehall's lead until starting pitcher Alex Bruneio induced a grounder to short to end the threat.

He got a little help in the bottom of that inning when the Zephs mounted a two-out rally. David Laky stroked a sharp single to center to start things off, and then Nicholas Delp doubled to drive in Laky. A pair of singles by David Gonzalez-Cepeda and Zachary Hamscher drove in another run, giving the Zephs a little more breathing room, extending the lead back to four.

However, that was followed by a three spot in the top of the fifth, cutting the deficit to one. It was Bruneio's second start of the season, and the southpaw wasn't quite as crisp as he was in his first outing, allowing six runs on seven hits, while walking three and striking out eight.

Still, he weathered that storm and then settled down the rest of the way, allowing just one more earned run over the next three innings to earn the victory.

The Zephs ability to answer back played a pivotal part in the win.

"It's huge," said O'Boyle. "It gives Alex a little bit of breathing room, allows him to loosen up. We did that a couple of times this game."

While only a sophomore, Bruneio showed poise on the mound, especially in the fifth when the Canaries were looking to tie the game.

Bruneio also seemed to get stronger as the game wore on, striking out five of the last seven batters he faced.

"I said that the second to last batter [he faced in the seventh], when he struck him out on a fastball, that might have been the hardest fastball he threw all day," said O'Boyle. "He definitely got stronger those last two or three innings. He just got into a little rut in those middle innings and pulled himself out of it."

The ability to pull himself out of that fifth inning jam was a matter of getting back to basics.

"I just needed to throw strikes and pound the zone," said Bruneio. "I needed to hit my spots, throw my off-speed, and just keep throwing strikes."

He also told O'Boyle he wanted to finish the game, rewarding his coach with a strong effort down the stretch.

"After the fifth when we were up by one, the adrenaline just started pumping," said Brunei who earned the complete-game victory.

In the game, second baseman Ruben "Javy" Rodriguez had two RBIs, while first baseman Laky chipped in with two hits, one run, and an RBI. Bruneio finished with two hits, and one RBI, while Gonzalez-Cepeda had a good day at the dish as well, knocking out two hits, including an RBI.

So far this season, O'Boyle has learned that his team will keep coming, inning after inning.

"This team really battles," said O'Boyle. "They're a quiet group, but they battle."