ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa.  – The Catholic baseball team looked to get back in the win column on Tuesday afternoon in a Landmark match against Elizabethtown, trying to split the season series against the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays slowly chipped away at a five run deficit throughout the game, and rallied in the ninth inning to score three runs to knock off the Cardinals, 7-6.

The Cardinals took advantage of the Blue Jays pitchers not being able to find the zone early in the top of the first as Jack Elwell and Matthew Fisher walked and Sammy Burman was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs. Elwell then came in to score on a wild pitch and Chase Falcon followed up with a sacrifice fly into right field for the second run of the game. Lance Eilbacher also recorded an RBI with a sac fly and Daniel Nellum sparked a second rally in the inning with a two-out single through the left side. Luke Forde and Matt Perlin proceeded to pick up RBI singles into the outfield to cap off a five run first inning for Catholic.

After Elizabethtown plated a run in the bottom of the first, Catholic got the run back in the top of the third after Nellum smacked his second single of the contest down the right field line to lead off the inning. After a bunt moved Nellum into scoring position, Elwell cashed in with a single into right field to notch an RBI to make it a 6-1 ballgame. The Blue Jays answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the third on an RBI triple from Tommy Kanakos to cut the deficit to four.

Luke Cardman kept the Blue Jays off the board for the rest of his outing, including getting a 6-4-3 double play and a strikeout to wrap up his last inning to keep the lead intact. Elizabethtown added runs in each the sixth and seventh innings, both scoring on RBI singles with two outs to make it a two-run game.

The Cardinals had an opportunity to add on to the lead in the top of the ninth after Eilbacher roped a single to center field and Jack Bateman reached on an infield single. Eilbacher moved up to third with a steal and Bateman got into scoring position on a wild pitch but Elizabethtown settled in and recorded the last two outs of the inning to keep the score at 6-4.

Elizabethtown, after trailing the whole game, found its stride on offense in the bottom of the ninth, bringing in three runs on four hits, taking the game from Catholic, 7-6. The last three Blue Jays' hitters came up with RBI singles with Alex Perrin delivering the walk-off hit to seal the victory.

Inside the Box Score

• Cardman turned in another quality outing, working through five innings with just two runs allowed with five strikeouts, the second-most in an outing for him this season. Cardman now has the second-most innings on the team this season with 25 and holds a 4.68 ERA.
• Elwell, Eilbacher and Nellum all led the way for the Cardinals with two hits as the team recorded 10, the 11th game with 10+ hits for the lineup this season.
• The Blue Jays relievers combined to all just 1 run over the final 8.1 innings of the game and wound up picking up five strikeouts.

The Cardinals return to the diamond on Saturday, April 4 for a conference doubleheader against Scranton. First pitch for game one is set for 11 am at Volpe Field.