WASHINGTON, D.C. - The second-seeded Catholic University baseball team split on day one of the Landmark Conference playoffs, falling 5-4 to Elizabethtown in game one and beating Juniata 11-10 in a walk-off 11th inning victory hit by junior Matt Tesoriero. 

With game two's win, the Cardinals (16-10) ended the Eagles' season and faces Elizabethtown again tomorrow morning. 

Elizabethtown 5, Catholic 4

A late offensive start for the Cardinals allowed for the Blue Jays to take an early lead that the Cardinals could not get ahead of. Sophomore Tucker Alch threw 6.2 innings and allowed five runs to cross the plate on seven hits with five strikeouts. Later, junior Jack Zaffiro closed to toss 2.1 innings with no runs scored, striking out two. 

Catholic's 10 hits over Elizabethtown's eight was not enough to come away with the win. By the top of the third, the Blue Jays were leading 3-0. Tesoriero's single to left center drove sophomore Derek Zelesnick across the plate for their first run. The Blue Jays answered with an RBI-triple to maintain their three run lead for a 4-1 score headed into the bottom of the fourth. 

After a RBI-double to left center by Zelesnick cut the deficit in half, the Cardinals continued to chip away at the Blue Jays' lead. A wild pitch advanced Elizabetown's fifth and final run home in the top of the seventh for a 5-2 scoreboard. 

A two-run rally off two hits came in the bottom of the eighth for the Cardinals. Sophomore Ben Nardi led off with a solo home run, his ninth of the season. A pair of walks by Tesoriero and senior Nolan Lundholm put two opportunities on the basepaths for senior Tyler Shaffer's single to center field. He drove in Tesoriero for a score of 5-4 headed into the ninth. 

A hitless final inning solidified Elizabethtown's one-run win over Catholic. Alch took his first loss of the season, falling to 6-1 on the mound. The Cardinals prepared to face the Eagles shortly after. 

Catholic 11, Juniata 10 (11 inn.)

A dramatic back-and-forth 11 inning game secured Catholic's entry into day two of the conference tournament. 

The Eagles pulled ahead in the first inning with two runs on two hits. The Cardinals quickly tied it up when Lundholm smacked a two-run RBI to left center and scored Tesoriero and Nardi. Senior Michael Doody brought in Lundholm with his single to the outfield followed by Zelesnick reaching first on a fielding error to score Shaffer unearned. The score was 4-2 heading into the second. 

With Juniata unable to respond, Catholic's bats exploded in the bottom of the second with six runs scored off six hits. Lundholm started the rally with the first of a series of doubles to right field and scored Tesoriero. Junior Peter Giombetti traded places with Lundholm with a two-base shot to left field for an RBI. Shaffer stepped up with his own double to bring in Giombetti for a comfortable 6-2 lead. 

With no outs, the rally continued. Senior Tighe Watson poked a single through the left side to score Doody which was mirrored by Zelesnick's RBI-single to left field. Senior Nicholas Torroella brought in Catholic's 10th run with another single to drive Watson home. Juniata's defense refocused and gathered three outs to end the second inning with a 10-2 score. 

The Eagles began to slowly chip away at the Cardinals' eight-run lead with a pair of runs scored in the third but still trailed 10-4. 

The entire game changed at the top of the sixth. Three singles loaded the bases for Juniata with no outs which gave sophomore Evan Mock the perfect opportunity to hit his first career home run, suddenly cutting Catholic's lead from six runs to just two. Senior Isaac Maclay stepped up with a solo home run to catch up to Catholic 10-9 heading into the seventh. The Eagles knotted it up 10-10 with a single run during their next at-bat. 

Three scoreless innings went by and the tie stood and called for extra innings. By the top of the 11th, Juniata threatened to pull ahead with two hits and two runners on base but could not produce any runs. For Catholic's turn at the plate, senior Billy Duke led off by reaching first on a fielding error followed by a balk that advanced him to second.

A perfectly-placed sacrifice bunt by Watson moved Duke to third. He was joined on the basepaths by Zelesnick and junior Tommy Antonucci who were both intentionally walked by Juniata. This defensive move backfired when Tesoriero hit a hard bouncing ground ball at the third baseman who was unable to make the out at first in time, giving Duke the chance to score the game-winning run. 

Junior Nick Marini started on the mound, pitching 5.1 innings and allowing nine runs on 10 hits and two strikeouts. Freshman Cormac Terry came in for the relief, throwing 5.2 innings with three hits and one run allowed, striking out four. Terry claimed the win for the Cardinals and improved to 3-1. 

The Cardinals will face Elizabethtown tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m. for the chance to compete in the conference championship.