OWINGS MILLS, Md. - The 17th-ranked Catholic baseball team snapped a four-game skid with a dominant 16-3 road victory at Stevenson on Tuesday in a non-conference showdown. 

Sophomore designated hitter Mitchel Johnson was dominant at the plate, going 4-4 with two doubles, a home run, and four RBIs. Johnson was one of six players with multiple hits as Catholic racked up 17 knocks on the day. Danny Prior got the start and tossed 5.0 innings of three-run ball before four pitchers combined for four scoreless innings to close out the victory. 

Catholic sits at 24-7 on the season with seven scheduled games remaining on the schedule. The Cardinals are 11-3 in Landmark play with four games remaining. 

Ross Natoli's squad plated nine runs in the first three innings including five in the first to take a commanding lead early on against the Mustangs. Five straight Catholic batters reached to open the contest with Joe Marini drawing a walk to start the contest. Johnson followed with a single while Ben Nardi was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Marini scored on a wild pitch before Dante Pozzi brought in two more runs with a single to center to make it 3-0. Lucas Malave roped a triple to right center, scoring Pozzi to make it 4-0 in favor of Catholic before an out was recorded. Malave scored the final run of the frame on another wild pitch. 

Jonathan Brandt ripped a solo shot off Prior in the bottom of the first, but the Cardinals pushed home three more runs in the top of the second to make it 8-1. Marini reached on an error before Johnson blasted a two-run shot to left for his second hit of the day. Pozzi and Malave both drew walks in the inning before Zach Burton picked up an RBI on a single down the line in left to push the lead to seven runs. 

Derek Zelesnick singled with one out in the third, advanced to third base on Johnson's third hit of the day, a double to left center, and then scored on another wild pitch from the Mustang pitching staff. 

Stevenson got another run back in the fourth to cut the deficit to seven, but the Cardinals plated four runs in the fifth to start to put the finishing touches on the victory. Catholic scored four runs on three hits in the inning with a handful of new players joining the fray. Steve Thomas drew a walk before a Michael Napolitano single. Marini singled to load up the bases for Johnson who drew a bases-loaded walk to extend the lead to 10-2. Nardi drove in a run with a sacrifice fly before another wild pitch brought home the 12th run of the game for the Cards. Pozzi singled to move Johnson up to third before he scored on a wild pitch, making it 13-2. 

Zelesnick drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth before Marini brought home Napolitano with an RBI single to make it 15-3. Johnson's fourth hit and second double of the day came in the eighth inning, scoring Shane Newsome for the final run of the game. 

STATS OF NOTE

• With two hits today, Pozzi surpassed the 75-hit mark for his Catholic baseball career. The sophomore shortstop has 76 hits and 72 walks in 80 games in a Cardinal uniform. 
• With 16 runs today, Catholic sits at 9.5 runs per game with 295 runs scored in 31 contests. 
• Catholic ripped four doubles on the day, giving them 76 for the year, 31 more doubles than its opposition in 2023. 
• With three extra-base hits in the game, Johnson has 21 on the season (14 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR) just one shy of Nardi's team-leading 22. If his day at the plate wasn't enough, Johnson also tossed a scoreless inning on the mound. 
• With a victory today, Prior picks up his first-ever collegiate win.

The Cardinals host Moravian for a Landmark Conference contest tomorrow at 3:30 p.m., making up a cancelled game from last weekend.