Bethlehem, Pa. — The Catholic University baseball team completed a series sweep of Moravian on Sunday, winning both games of the doubleheader. 

The Cardinals (23-6, 9-0 LC) have now won eight games in a row and 21 of their last 23 overall. They also remain perfect in Landmark Conference play, having swept all three conference series they have played. 

Catholic got out to early leads in both games before Moravian (13-12, 2-6 LC) mounted two comeback efforts. The Cardinals then used late flurries to grab the victories.

Game 1: Catholic 7, Moravian 3

The Cardinals only used two pitches en route to the win in game one. 

Freshman Cody Bosak and sophomore Danny Fitzgerald combined to pitch a gem on the mound. Bosak started the game and pitched 5.0 innings, only allowing four hits and one earned run, and striking out five. Fitzgerald pitched the final 4.0 innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits.

Catholic got on the board first in the third, when they plated three runs with two outs. Freshman Matthew Fisher led off the inning with a single but looked destined to be stranded after back-to-back outs. That's when junior Zach Burton laced a double down the left-field line that scored Fisher. Junior Ben Nardi followed with his fifth home run of the season, hitting it out over the left-field fence to give Catholic the 3-0 lead. 

The Greyhounds cut into the lead in the fourth by hitting two doubles to make the score 3-1. 

Bosak did not come back out to begin bottom of the sixth, and Moravian hitters were ready to face a new pitcher. They were able to muster back-to-back singles to lead off the inning, and put runners on second and third with no outs after both runners advanced on the throw after the second single.

They then made use of back-to-back RBI groundouts to bring both runners home and knot the game at 3-3. 

The Cardinals responded immediately. In the next half inning, they loaded the bases without recording an out courtesy of a single, a throwing error and a walk. Nardi then singled through the right side to score junior Derek Zelesnick as freshman Dante Pozzi was thrown out trying to score as he tried to follow Zelesnick home on the same play. Senior Peter Giombetti followed with an RBI double before graduate student Billy Duke capped off the four-run seventh with a two-RBI single to stretch the lead to 7-3. 

After getting hit for two runs in the sixth, Fitzgerald shut down the Greyhounds. He pitched a one-two-three seventh before making use of two double plays to get out of the eighth and ninth unscathed after seeing the leadoff batter single in both innings. 

Fitzgerald earned the win for his efforts, moving him to 5-0 on the season. Moravian reliever David Ciaccio got hit with the loss, dropping him to 1-2 on the year. 

Game 2: Catholic 9, Moravian 3

Catholic jumped on the Greyhounds early in game two, plating one in the first and two in the second.

After Burton hit a one-out single and advanced to second on a passed ball, Giombetti drove him home with a double to center field. 

In the second, Zelesnick drove in senior Matt Tesoriero after he singled and stole second base. A Burton sacrifice fly then scored Zelesnick and pushed the Cardinal lead to 3-0.

Senior Jack Zaffiro started on the mound and pitched 5.0 innings of one-run baseball. He allowed only four hits and walked one, while striking out eight.

Moravian scored one off of Zaffiro in the fifth, when a bunt single brought home a run. They then cut the lead to 3-2 in the sixth when they plated an unearned run off of freshman Lucky Perrotto.

The Cardinals and Greyhounded traded runs in the seventh to make it 4-3. Catholic's was delivered by a two-out single up the middle by Fisher that scored Tesoriero.

Catholic pulled away in the eighth, when they brought home four. Senior Tommy Antonucci led off the inning with a double and a one-out Burton single put runners on the corners. Nardi followed by bringing Antonucci home with an RBI single through the right side. Giombetti then jacked a three-run homer to left field to bust the game open and put Catholic up 8-3.

Giombetti's home run marked his 11th of the season, which ties a program record for most home runs in a single season (Brennan Cotter, 2018). His four RBIs in the game pushes him to 40 on the season. Both are team-highs.

The Cardinals added one more in the ninth, when Antonucci smashed his first home run of the season. 

Pozzi extended his streak of successfully reaching base to 22 games after drawing four walks in the second game. Giombetti went a combined 5-for-9 over both games with one home run, two singles, two doubles, one walk, three runs scored and five RBIs. Antonucci went 4-for-5 in game two and was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. 

Zaffiro got the win on the mound, elevating him to 1-2 on the season, while Greyhound starter Matt Synder caught the loss. He falls to 0-2 on the year.

Catholic looks to stay undefeated in conference play when they return to action on Friday, April 15. They will host Elizabethtown at Talbot Field, with first pitch in game one is scheduled for noon.