WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Catholic University baseball team won the rubber match by a wide margin Sunday afternoon in a 17-4 victory for the series win over Skidmore at Robert J. Talbot Field. 

A ten-run eighth inning sealed the Cardinals' (4-4) chances of taking two out of three against the Thoroughbreds (1-2). Senior Connor Sullivan led the team with four hits and two RBIs to close out a productive weekend at the plate in which the Cards had 36 hits as a team. 

The hosts got on the board right away as the team's first three hitters, Sullivan, Cid Porter, and Michael Doody, all singled to take a 1-0 lead. After a single from Connor Cozad, fellow senior Christian Jones bombed a deep fly ball down the right field line that could not be caught for a two-RBI triple. Five hits resulted in five runs for a nice cushion to start the game. 

Catholic added a couple more runs in the sixth inning thanks to freshman Derek Zelesnick's first career hit, an RBI double down the left field line. Sullivan then did the same down the opposite line to bring in Zelesnick to make the game 7-2.

Skidmore added a run in the seventh and eighth innings to cut the lead to just 7-4, but the Cards exploded in the bottom half of the eighth for a ten-run inning to end any hope of a comeback. Catholic picked up nine base knocks, including three bunt singles, and walked five times to put up 10 in one frame. Tighe Watson got two hits in that span, including a two-RBI double. Skidmore's four pitchers eventually ended the rally with Catholic sitting comfortably up 17-4. 

Sophomore right-hander Matt Tesoriero put forth a good start on the mound after four impressive innings of work. Tesoriero struck out five and gave up just one run on two hits. Junior Ethan Risse pitched 2.2 innings in relief and threw three strikeouts for the win. Four additional pitchers got work in less than inning each to close out the game. 

The 17-run effort marks the highest run total since April 8, 2019 when the Cardinals scored 23 runs in a win over Gallaudet. Catholic hosts that same opponent in its next contest on Wednesday, March 4. First pitch at Talbot Field is set for 3 p.m.