LANCASTER, Pa.  — The Catholic baseball team looked to build off its win in the first round of the Landmark Conference Tournament with a matchup against top-seeded Wilkes on Friday afternoon. The Cardinals came up with three runs in the top of the ninth to break a 3-3 tie and the bullpen shut the Colonels out over the last three innings to send Catholic into the winner's bracket with a 6-3 victory. 

The Cardinals scratched across the first run of the game in the top of the second inning after Dante Pozzi and Sammy Burman each singled to start the inning off. Zach Burton moved the runners into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt for the first out of the inning. Jack Bateman recorded the first RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly into right field to score Pozzi to put Catholic on top 1-0. The Cardinals added a second run in the top of the third when Steve Thomas came in to score, after a lead-off single, on a double play to double the Catholic lead.

After Wilkes picked up an RBI double in each the fourth and fifth inning to tie the game back up, Catholic grabbed the lead back in the top of the sixth inning. Pozzi led the inning off with a double down the left field line for his second hit of the game. Burman immediately drove Pozzi in with an RBI single to left field to put the Cardinals back on top 3-2. The Colonels once again answered in the bottom of the inning as Matthew Show dropped down a sacrifice bunt to score Jacob Cambria from third to knot the game back up at three.

Jake Kenney pitched two huge innings in relief for the Cardinals, holding the Colonels off the board in the seventh and eighth innings to keep the game deadlocked at three. Despite allowing three hits, Kenney worked his way out of trouble in both innings to give Catholic a shot to take the lead in the top of the ninth. 

Matthew Fisher set the table in the top of the ninth with a lead-off single up the middle and Bateman was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second with no one out. Jack Elwell pinch-ran for Fisher and stole third to put runners at the corners. Justin McCarthy chopped an infield single over to third base and the throw home was up the line to allow Elwell to score the go ahead run. Thomas followed up with an RBI double up the alley in left center and Pozzi drew a walk with the bases loaded to bring in the third run of the inning for Catholic to take a 6-3 lead. 

Jack Scholz came in to lock things down in the ninth and he recorded his team-leading fourth save of the season to send the Cardinals into the winner's bracket, just one game away from the Landmark Conference Championship series.

Inside the Box Score

• Thomas recorded two hits on the afternoon to advance his season total to 61 which is the second-most in the Landmark this season. His 61 hits leads the team and are tied for the ninth-most in a single-season in program history. He is also now tied for the most runs in a single-season in program history with 53.
• Cody Bosak turned in another solid start, tossing six innings while only allowing two earned runs and punching out four. He holds the lowest ERA among qualified Catholic pitchers at 2.89 and he overtook the team lead in innings pitched with 65.1 which also leads the conference. 
• Pozzi added another RBI on to his team-leading total of 43. He now has the ninth most RBI in a season in program history.

The Cardinals will play the third-seeded Scranton Royals in the first game at Penn Medicine Stadium tomorrow. First pitch is at 11 am and the winner advances to the championship.