SELINSGROVE, Pa.  – The Catholic baseball team traveled to take on Susquehanna for the first game in a three game series on Saturday afternoon. Despite grabbing an early lead, the Cardinals fell behind in the bottom of the sixth and the River Hawks worked out of a couple late game jams to hold on to a 4-3 win to take the series opener.

Chris Esquivel started the rally in the top of the second with a one out walk and was moved into scoring position on a base hit from Daniel Nellum. Matt Perlin picked up the first RBI of the game with a single into center field and right behind him Jack Elwell drove in a run on a single to give Catholic a 2-0 advantage. 

The River Hawks went on to tie the game by scoring a run in both the second and third innings, one on an RBI single and another on a sacrifice fly into left field. Roman Tozzi kept Susquehanna off the board for the rest of his start, working through five innings with only four hits allowed and four punch outs.

Susquehanna broke through to take its first lead in the bottom of the sixth after loading the bases with two outs. A hit by pitch and a walk brought in a pair of runs to give the River Hawks a 4-2 lead before James Vlastaris struck out the last batter of the inning. 

A hit by pitch and back-to-back walks from Perlin and Elwell loaded the bases with just one out, providing Catholic the opportunity to tie or take the lead. Matthew Fisher launched a fly ball to right field for a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to one, but Susquehanna limited the damage to just one to keep the lead intact.

Lance Eilbacher reached base in the top of the ninth with no outs and was bunted into scoring position by Chase Falcon. Eilbacher eventually stole third to be 90 feet from tying the game but the Cardinals could not bring the run home and the River Hawks held on for a one run win. Catholic is now 12-9 on the season.

Inside the Box Score

• Fisher and Perlin both led the Cardinals in hits on the afternoon, each going 2-for-3 with an RBI. Fisher raised his batting average to .380 this season, while Perlin's also climbed up to .304. 
• Will Hanson continued his strong start to the season with 2.1 shutout innings in relief with two strikeouts. On the season, he now boasts a 1.65 ERA over 16.1 innings with 19 punch outs while holding opponents to a .200 average. 
• Ben Gearhart turned in a strong start for Susquehanna, working through six two-run innings to earn himself the win.

The series will conclude Sunday, March 29 against Susquehanna in a doubleheader that will start at 12 pm.