COLLEGE PARK, Md. — The Catholic baseball team looked to capture a series win over Moravian in a rubber match on Sunday morning after a split on Saturday. In a game that featured multiple lead changes, the Cardinals offense exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the eighth to take a stronghold on the game and win a 14-9 slugfest to improve to 8-6 on the season.
After the Greyhounds struck first in the top of the second with an RBI groundout,
Dante Pozzi started off an incredible day at the plate with a solo homer to left center field to put the Cardinals on the board and even the game at one.
The Cardinals had to once again overcome a deficit the very next inning after allowing three runs in the top of the third to fall behind 4-1. After the first two batters of the inning were retired,
Mitchel Johnson worked a walk to put a runner on. Catholic then recorded four consecutive two-out hits, three of which were doubles, to take a 5-4 lead.
Logan Eilbacher,
Joe Marini, Pozzi and
Matthew Fisher all came up with the hits to help the Cardinals get ahead.
After tying the game back up in the top of the fourth, Moravian took the lead back in the game in the top of the sixth inning as Rodney Werkheiser knocked a two-out double into left field to bring in Wyatt Harrar to once again give the Greyhounds a one run advantage.
As they did throughout the game, the Cardinals offense once again overcame the slim deficit in the bottom of the seventh inning. Pozzi came up with yet another key extra-base hit to bring in
Mark Villanueva all the way from first base. Fisher followed up with a base-hit into right field to bring Pozzi to the plate to put Catholic back on top 7-6.
The seesaw continued in the top of the eighth inning as Matt Westcott led the inning off with a single to put the tying run on base. The next batter Troy Robosky roped a two-run homer for his third of the season to put the Greyhounds back on top 8-7.
The Cardinals used a seven run, six hit eighth inning to grab complete control of the game. Johnson came up with the tying hit on an RBI single into center field to bring in
Steve Thomas.
Joe Haines pinch-hit and was hit by a pitch on a 10+ pitch at-bat to load the bases up for Marini. Marini launched a two-RBI double off the wall in right center field to take a 10-8 lead. Pozzi and Fisher followed this with back-to-back RBI doubles and
Zach Burton brought in the final run of the inning on a sacrifice bunt to put Catholic up by six.
The Greyhounds pushed across a run in the top of the ninth but were unable to rally back and the Cardinals closed out a 14-9 win to start conference play with a 2-1 record.
Inside the Box Score
- Pozzi and Fisher shined at the bottom of the Catholic lineup, finishing a combined 8-for-10 with seven extra-base hits, eight RBI and four runs scored. Both finished with a career-high four hits while all four of Pozzi's hits were for extra-bases.
- Extra-base hits ran rampant for the Cardinals as 10 of the teams 18 hits went for extra-bases in the win. Catholic eclipsed 10+ runs for the third time this season.
- In total, six different Cardinals finished the game with multi-hit performances. 18 hits was a season-high for Catholic.
The Cardinals will go on the road for the first time in conference play when they take on Elizabethtown on Tuesday, March 18. First pitch is slated for 3 pm.
