Bobby Francis was batting .392 with 20 runs scored and 17 RBIs for Moon Area following the team's run to the WPIAL Class AAA championship game last week.

And while those numbers for the senior right fielder are certainly impressive when viewed on their own for their own merits, they show the quality of the Moon lineup in one specific way.

Francis bats ninth for the Tigers.

"Our lineup, 1 through 9 -- it doesn't matter who is up -- everybody's hitting the ball," Francis said. "It's somebody different every game. We've had people continuously all year come through. Every day, somebody gets that big hit that sparks us, and everyone else feeds off of that, and it kind of goes from there."

Moon (16-8) will play Peters Township (19-5) at 3 today in the PIAA quarterfinals at the Burkett Complex in Robinson. If the Tigers win, they will be one win away from reaching the PIAA championship game for the third time in five seasons. Moon won PIAA titles in 2001 and '02.

The Tigers survived a scare in the Perry game. The Commodores (10-10) led, 5-3 in the fourth inning Tuesday at Shaler Area's Matulevic Field.

And while Marshall University recruit Sean Holliday's pitching and sophomore Tom DeAngelis' hitting are big reasons why the team has had such success, first-year head coach Dom Santeufemio warned against overlooking Francis, a three-year starter.

"He's probably the guy who didn't get a whole lot of credit. And he should have," Santeufemio said. "He's the No. 9 hitter, but he turns the lineup over and becomes a leadoff man without actually being one. He does a real good job."

Francis began the season as Moon's leadoff man and second baseman. An infielder at the top of the lineup throughout his career, Santeufemio said Francis has always been selfless and proved that when he moved first to center field before settling in right.

Offensively, Francis ranks second on the team in hitting and runs and tied for fourth in RBIs. Defensively, this 5-foot-10, 165-pounder has excelled all season. He single-handedly kept Moon's season alive with a full-extension diving catch with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning during the Tigers' 6-5 victory against Greensburg Salem that took 10 innings in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs.

"He's a small guy who runs well, had a few real nice bunt hits for us," Santeufemio said. "He's a scrappy kind of kid who does everything. He steals bases, just gets it done. We moved him to the outfield so we could get some other players in to make our team better, and he was more than willing to do whatever we asked."

Francis said he actually prefers batting ninth. He likes to get involved in the game before batting and prefers to view the opposing team's pitcher from a distance before stepping to the plate.

"It's worked out all year," Francis said. "I see the ball and hit the ball better in the nine spot. I don't approach hitting differently [depending on the spot in the lineup]. I treat every at bat like its my last."

Based on the offensive numbers that Moon posts, it is a good bet most of the lineup thinks the same way. Freshman third baseman Brian Walsh took over the leadoff spot and was hitting .319 with 18 runs, 17 RBIs and seven steals heading into Tuesday's 13-5 win against Perry in the first round of the PIAA playoffs. Senior Nick Peterson filled center field and has 17 runs and 20 RBIs.

Junior catcher Casey Williams bats third and leads Moon with four home runs while hitting .303.

Sean Holliday hits .380 -- third on the Tigers -- and has a team-high 24 RBIs. DeAngelis was not even a projected starter when the season began but responded by flirting with .500 (he sat at .492 heading into Tuesday with three home runs and 23 RBIs).

Junior shortstop Dan Walsh, Brian's brother, hit .310 with 17 runs and five steals out of the No. 6 spot in the order, while senior first baseman Bill Divis and senior outfielders Brian Schmidt and Mike Seretti have combined to drive in almost 30 runs and hit nearly .300 filling the seventh and eighth positions.

"It seems like a different guy carries us each game," Santeufemio said.

"Our lineup has been tough all year long. If we are going to go far in this tournament, it will because of that lineup."