WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Catholic baseball team entered Wednesday afternoon's contest with a chance to earn a two game sweep over Rhode Island College after a convincing victory in the first matchup. A big second inning at the plate put the Cardinals in the driver's seat early on and allowed them to capture an 11-5 victory over the Anchormen to improve to 9-3 on the season.
Jack Dufficy in his first career start set the first six batters he faced down to help set up the inning for the Cardinals in the bottom of the second. It was a hit parade for Catholic as they scored six runs on six hits to open a comfortable lead in the early stages.
Chase Falcon started the rally with a double to left center field before
Michael Napolitano singled to put runners at the corners with just one out.
Gabriel Ruiz proceeded to smoke a double over the center fielder's head to score the game's first run.
Matt Perlin brought in two more runs with a two RBI base-hit to right field before both
Lance Eilbacher and
Sammy Burman delivered RBI hits to bring in three more runs to cap off the inning.
Dufficy continued his strong outing through five innings where he only allowed three hits, two runs (one earned) to go along with six strikeouts for the freshman. He turned things over to
Sean Murphy in relief who tossed two shutout innings to help keep the lead intact.
Catholic's offense added some padding to the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning when Napolitano and Ruiz kicked things off with a single and a double on back-to-back at-bats to put two in scoring position. Eilbacher cashed in with two-outs and the bases loaded when he punched a single through the left side of the infield to score Ruiz and Napolitano. Burman picked up the third RBI of the inning when a knock into right field to push the Cardinals lead to 9-2.
The lead was once again extended in the bottom of the seventh with two more runs, the first coming on a wild pitch that brought Napolitano to the plate from third.
Taig McErlane collected an RBI on a ground out to third to give Catholic a commanding 11-2 lead.
The Anchormen scratched across three runs in the final two innings but it was not enough to overcome the large deficit and the Cardinals closed out a six-run victory.
Inside the Box Score
- Napolitano put together a stellar series at the plate going 6-for-7 with three-extra base hits and three RBIs. The senior catcher is now 10-for-23 on the season with four extra-base hits.
- Burman and Eilbacher continue to pace the team in RBIs, each leading the team in the win with three RBI each in the win. They both now have 16 on the season which is leading the Landmark.
- Over the two game series, the Cardinals pounded out 30 hits and drove in 22 runs with 13 extra-base hits. Catholic now has 10 or more hits in eight games this season.
The Cardinals are back in action for their first conference games against Drew on Saturday, March 14 for a doubleheader. First pitch for game one is set for 12 pm.
