BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Catholic University baseball team opened a three-game series against Landmark Conference opponent Moravian with a 10-6 victory on Saturday afternoon.

The Cardinals (21-6, 7-0 LC) have now won six games in a row and have triumphed in 19 of their last 21 contests. They also remain undefeated in Landmark Conference play.

Junior Tucker Alch started on the mound and pitched into the eighth inning, allowing four runs, three of which were earned, and ten hits, while walking none and striking out five.

Catholic took an early lead, plating a run before the Greyhounds had the opportunity to step into the batter's box. Freshman Dante Pozzi and junior Zach Burton led off the game with back-to-back singles before a productive at-bat from junior Ben Nardi advanced both runners. Senior Peter Giombetti then scored Pozzi with a sacrifice fly to right field.

The Cardinals added to their lead in the second inning, exploding for six more runs.

After senior Matt Tesoriero began the inning with a single, three straight walks brought him home, as Pozzi walked with the bases loaded to earn the RBI. Burton then doubled to left field to drive in two runs. Two batters later, Giombetti doubled to center to plate two more before graduate student Billy Duke hit a sacrifice fly to score Nardi and extend Catholic's lead to 7-0.

The Cardinals pushed their lead to 8-0 in the fourth, when a one-out Nardi single scored Pozzi. 

The Greyhounds got two runs back in the sixth, when two Cardinal errors eliminated Alch's shutout.

After Catholic extended the lead to 10-2 in the top of the eighth, Moravian strung four straight hits together to plate two more and chase Alch from the game with no outs in the inning. 

Junior Brendan Martin entered the game with the score at 10-4 and with runners on first and second. He got the first batter he faced to fly out before forcing the next hitter to ground into a double play to get Catholic back into the dugout and preserve the six-run advantage.

In Martin's last four relief appearances, he's recorded one win and one save, pitching 4.1 innings, allowing no runs, striking out three and only allowing one hit. 

Senior Nick Marini pitched the ninth, allowing two runs on four hits and one walk en route to getting the final three outs and securing the win for Catholic.

Burton went 3-for-4 at the plate with two singles, a double, a walk, three RBIs and two runs scored. Giombetti matched him with three RBIs while Pozzi walked three times and scored four runs.

Alch earned the victory on the mound, elevating him to 6-1 on the season. Greyhound starting pitcher Tyler Valentine caught the loss, moving him to 1-3.

Catholic returns to action tomorrow, when they square off against Moravian in a Sunday doubleheader to close out the series. First pitch in game one is scheduled for noon at Gillespie Field.