At the beginning of the season, Moravia coach Rich Valentino wasn't sure how far his young pitchers could carry the Blue Devils.

Now that he's in the Section IV semifinals, he's finding out they can go the distance.

Senior Joel Mackey (3-1) will take the mound against Thomas A. Edison when the No. 2 Blue Devils host the third-ranked Spartans today at 4:30 p.m.

“I call him my secret weapon,” Valentino said of Mackey. “Nobody knows about him.”

The reason Mackey is a mystery to his opponents is he spent most of the 2005 season on the sideline after injuring his knee during the 2004 football season.

Fighting through the injury, Mackey earned his first career victory April 3.

“I've always known he was a real athlete and true competitor, just by the way he rehabbed.” Valentino said.

“His knee is only about 80 percent. “He's throwing 20 percent on guts.”

But guts can only get you so far. That's where the bats come in.

As a team, the Blue Devils have hit 12 home runs - a number Valentino said he can't remember seeing from a team anytime recently.

Jake Wood has accounted for four round-trippers, Mackey and Matt Vargason have three each, and Tim Nervina, who hit a four-bagger in Saturday's win over Groton, has two.

“Hitting has definitely been a strong point,” Valentino said. “That really helps the pitchers get a lot of confidence.”

The Blue Devils will need all the confidence they can get against the Spartans, who were ranked No. 1 in the state earlier this season, if they hope to repeat as Section IV champions.