Cardinals Advance in
Ten-Inning Comeback Win
CUA trails 14-0 after five innings
but gets the victory
5/2/2008
HUNTINGDON, Pa. - The third-seeded Catholic University baseball
squad (24-13-1) needed every second of its ten-inning contest
against Susquehanna University (18-20) Friday in its opening game
of the Landmark Conference Tournament. After falling behind
14-0 in the first five innings, the third-seeded Cardinals staged a
tremendous comeback to force extra innings and get the eventual
17-16 victory over the second-seeded Crusaders.
Things started out poorly for the Cards as they gave up 14 runs
in the first four innings going through three different pitchers in
the process. The first inning had a three-run homer and the
second saw a string of solid doubles bring four runners across the
plate. Two CUA errors and some crafty base running aided the
Crusaders to gain five runs in the third while two more hits in the
fourth made it 14-0 after five looking like the Cardinals were
cooked.
Despite the huge deficit, CUA didn't give up as the offense
began clicking in the top of the sixth as the Cards chipped away at
the lead. A costly error allowed four unearned runs to score
for the Cardinals after singles from Joe Maca (Oyster Bay,
N.Y./Saint Dominic) and Joe Devine (Medford Lakes, N.J./Shawnee)
brought in two and Mike Goodman's (Brookville, Md./Sherwood) homer
to left field added the other pair. The defense began to lock
down the Crusaders as the CUA bats continued to work with four runs
in the seventh thanks to doubles from Maca and Patrick Quintana
(Denver, Colo./Littleton) who combined for three RBI as well as a
sac fly from Landmark Rookie of the Year, Tommy Little
(Hyattsville, Md./DeMatha). The Cardinals allowed two
Susquehanna runs in the bottom of the inning as they entered the
ninth trailing 16-8.
The top of the ninth proved to be CUA's inning as they generated
eight runs batting through the order to tie it up and force the
extra inning. Cory Hudson (Beltsville, Md./Gonzaga) started
with a single while Little advanced on the walk and Devine reached
on a hit to left center. Maca's double then drove in the
first two and Goodman's single to right center added two
more. A walk by Tommy Bowles (Davidsonville, Md./Mount Saint
Joe) kept runners on base and Robbie O'Brien (Columbia, Md./Long
Reach) brought another home with a single. Quintana added a
single and the RBI before pinch hitter Sean Earley (Pequannock,
N.J./Pequannock Township) crushed a double to right center scoring
two runs and tying it up at 16.
The bottom of the ninth belonged to First Team All-Landmark
selection Michael Bzozowski (Moorestown, N.J./Moorestown) who
pitched three K's in a row to quickly end the inning. In the
top of the tenth with one out, Maca got on with a single and stole
second to get in scoring position. A fly ball to right moved
him to third before Matthew Rosner's (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill
West) hit brought him in for the go ahead run. Clinging to a
one-run lead, the defense made quick work of the Crusaders with
Quintana catching a runner on the basepath and Bzozowski striking
out his fourth of the game. An easy third to first play ended
the game and gave CUA the remarkable 17-16 victory.
Even with the win, the Cardinals were out hit 18-17 and had two
more errors. Maca led the squad going 4-6 with three runs
scored and four RBI while Quintana contributed a 3-5 performance
with three runs scored and as many RBI. Bzozowski took the
win on the mound pitching two innings with four strikeouts.
The Cardinals now advance to the winners bracket, they will face
top-seeded and host team Juniata College on Saturday at 12:30
p.m. The Landmark Tournament is a double elimination event.
