WASHINGTON, D.C.  – The Catholic baseball team looked to complete an unbeaten weekend on Sunday afternoon in a showdown against Marymount (Va.). In a high scoring affair, the Saints took advantage of some late game opportunities as they took the lead in the eighth inning and continued to tack on runs to come away with a 13-8 victory over the Cardinals.

After the Saints started off the scoring in the top of the first inning with one run, the Cardinals immediately answered with a four spot in the bottom of the inning to grab the momentum with a 4-1 lead. The first run came in to score when Gabriel Ruiz stole second base and the throw from the catcher went awry and wound up in center field, allowing Chris Esquivel to score from third. Matthew Fisher then notched the first RBI of the game for Catholic with a double down the right field line and Chase Falcon went on to do the same later in the inning, driving in two runs to push the lead out to three. 

Landon Penney settled in nicely after the first inning and mowed through the Marymount lineup over the next four innings of his outing to keep the lead intact. He consistently kept the ball on the ground and got the Saints to ground into three double plays over his outing.

The bats came alive for the Saints in the top of the sixth when they brought in four runs on four hits, the big one being a three-run double to right center field with two outs to put them back on top 5-4. Daniel Tsimbinos and Falcon each reached base in the bottom of the inning and Matt Perlin came through when he snuck a double just inside the third base bag to bring home both runners to give the Cardinals the lead back at 6-5. 

The Saints picked up another two-out RBI in the top of the seventh inning to once again bring the game back even. Marymount then broke out for four runs in the top of the eighth to take control of the game at 10-6. In the bottom of the eighth, Falcon ripped another RBI double to score Tsimbinos to try and spark a comeback effort for the Cardinals. Nico Tozzi came in to score on a wild pitch later in the inning and Catholic had a bases loaded opportunity with just one out in the inning. Marymount called on Graham Jones out of the bullpen and he escaped the jam with a pop out and ground out to keep the Saints in front 10-8.

The Saints added on three more in the top of the ninth to push the lead out to 13-8 and they kept the Cardinals from sparking a rally in the bottom of the ninth to close out the win. Catholic is now 5-2 on the season.

Inside the Box Score

• Fisher finished the day 3-for-5 with an RBI and run scored to lead the Cardinals offensively, which was the most hits he's had in a game so far this season. Fisher reached 100 career hits with his three hit performance. 
• Penney completed the longest outing of his career in the contest, getting through five innings and striking out five batters. Through nine innings this season, he has only allowed 1 earned run this season and racked up 10 strikeouts.
• The Saints came up with 16 hits, the most against the Cardinals pitching staff thus far this season. 

The Cardinals are next scheduled to play against Gettysburg on Tuesday, March 3. First pitch is set for 3 pm.