SELINSGROVE, Pa. - Catholic grabbed a 5-2 victory over Susquehanna in game one of Sunday's twin bill, but its late-inning effort in game two wasn't enough to secure a sweep. The Cardinals fell in game two to the River Hawks, 4-3.
Game 1 - Catholic 5, Susquehanna 2
Catholic opened up Sunday's doubleheader with a 5-2 victory over Susquehanna, evening up the series at 1-1. Logan Eilbacher and Roman Tozzi were outstanding to lead Catholic as it picked up win number 12 in 2024.
Eilbacher had his best showing yet at the plate, roping two doubles and driving in a career-best three runs. Eilbacher drove in Catholic's first two runs, putting the Cardinals ahead 2-1 in the top of the second. He later pushed the lead to 4-2 with an RBI double in the top of the sixth. Sunday marked the first multi-RBI game of the freshman's young career.
His effort at the plate was paired with a strong showing on the mound from Tozzi who struck out a career-high 10 batters in 5.0 innings to pick up his third win of the season. Cody Bosak would finish the contest, pitching 3.0 perfect innings with five strikeouts to earn the save. With Sam Fairhurst striking out two in a scoreless sixth inning, the Catholic pitched staff fanned 17 in the contest.
Joining Eilbacher to drive in the remaining two runs were Derek Zelesnick and Mitchel Johnson. Zelesnick singled through the left side to score Eilbacher after his two-run double in the second to give Catholic a 3-1 advantage. After Dante Pozzi led the ninth off with a double, Johnson yanked a double down the left field line to score Pozzi, making it 5-2.
Pozzi continues to produce for Catholic as he recorded his eighth multi-hit game of the season to put him at 100 career hits. Zach Burton and Steve Thomas also added two-baggers as Catholic recorded six doubles in the contest.
Game 2 - Catholic 3, Susquehanna 4
Despite trailing 3-0 after six innings of play, Catholic tied the contest at 3-3 in the top of the ninth, but Susquehanna was able to close out the contest in regulation, drawing three walks before a Catholic error allowed the winning run to cross.
In the top of the seventh inning,
Sammy Burman started a Catholic comeback effort with a double. Burman came in to score as the next batter,
Jesse Lacefield, followed with a double to make it 3-1. Lacefield advanced 90 feet on a ground out to second before scoring on a wild pitch to pull the Cardinals within one.
The Cardinals loaded the bases in the eighth as Eilbacher and Burman drew back-to-back two-out walks, but Evan Applegate entered the game and induced a Lacefield ground ball to get the River Hawks out of the jam.
Catholic would successfully tie the game in the ninth after loading the bases once more.
Sean O'Mara pinch-hit for
Lance Eilbacher and drew a leadoff walk. Zelesnick laid down a bunt and reached, advancing O'Hara to second in the process. Two batters later, Burton drew a one-out walk to load the bases. Johnson drove in O'Hara with a sacrifice fly to center, but Thomas was retired to keep the game tied.
Brendan Martin retired the first two batters of the ninth inning before issuing an intentional walk to Tony Rossi. He then issued two more free passes and Rossi would go on to score on a game-ending error.
The River Hawks take the series, defeating Catholic in two of three games. Catholic will next take on No. 9 Johns Hopkins on Wednesday in Baltimore before a Landmark Conference series with Scranton starts on Saturday.
