It's little wonder this is shaping up to be a breakthrough season for the Jefferson-Morgan High School baseball team.

Not only do the Rockets have seven seniors in the starting lineup, six of them are multi-season starters and at least five of them are athletically talented enough that they will be playing sports in college.

"We have a good nucleus of seniors," Jeff-Morgan coach John Curtis said. "They have good attitudes and have worked pretty hard. They definitely have some ability."

That ability has shown through to the point that the Rockets were undefeated through six games and a perfect 3-0 in Section 1-A play heading into Thursday's scheduled game against Bentworth.

A year after narrowly missing out on the postseason by only a game, Jefferson-Morgan is thinking big for a team that hasn't qualified for the WPIAL playoffs since 2001.

"We've been working at this for four years," senior center fielder Justin Falcon said. "This is our time. We've got to make the playoffs this year."

Falcon served as a running back on the Rockets football team that made the playoffs all four of the senior class' seasons. The team's leadoff hitter, Falcon has great speed and is adept at getting on base, posting an on-base percentage of close to .500 before Wednesday's 15-0 win against Mapletown. He will play football at Waynesburg University.

Shortstop Dave Montibeller was hitting a team-leading .750 through the team's first five games and will play baseball at Allegheny College next season. The starting second baseman last season, he bats third in the order.

At 6 feet 2, 225 pounds, senior catcher Noah Pust was hitting .500 before Wednesday with a team-high 11 RBIs from the cleanup spot.

Curtis said California University is interested in him for baseball.

The pitching staff is anchored by two seniors, in left-hander Mike Mox and righty Terry Lawrence. Mox, the Rockets' quarterback in the fall, bats second in the order and has posted good numbers. He will play football at Washington & Jefferson next season.

Those two typically play first base when each other is pitching, but Mox also will play center or short if and when Falcon or Montibeller are on the mound.

Another senior, third baseman Ryan Edwards, has shown pop in the form of a five-RBI performance, including a three-run homer, in a 10-5 victory against otherwise-unbeaten Frazier last week. The No. 5 hitter in the order, Edwards was batting .394 through that contest.

Scott Bogden, a Waynesburg University football recruit, didn't play baseball last season but has been solid as a left fielder this season with his power bat and arm.

That's seven seniors occupying the top seven spots in the batting order.

"We've been playing together so long and we know each other so well on the field," Mox said. "It helps having that chemistry built up over the years. The fact that we're all seniors helps a lot in terms of experience, too."

Sophomores Brent Moskola and Ryan Knight round out the lineup at second base and right field, respectively.

Despite the strong start, Curtis isn't going to let his team be satisfied with a defense that has shown signs of inconsistency. He allows that the pitching has been "pretty good" but even the even-tempered Curtis can't hide how pleased he is with the team's offense.

Jeff-Morgan averaged almost nine runs per game over its first six contests, two of which were shortened by the "mercy rule."