WASHINGTON, D.C.  – The Catholic baseball team looked to keep the winning ways and move up the conference standings on Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader against Moravian. The Cardinals received two stellar starting performances from Roman Tozzi and Charlie Belli to help spur them to a pair of victories over the Greyhounds to improve to 16-14 on the season.
After Tozzi cruised through the first two innings, the Cardinals cracked the scoreboard for the first time when Lance Eilbacher lashed a two-out single into left field and moved up to third from a single from Gabriel Ruiz. Ruiz proceeded to steal second base during the next at-bat and on the throw down, Eilbacher bolted to the plate to put Catholic on top, 1-0.

Tozzi went on an absurd run during the second through fourth innings where he punched out eight consecutive batters, the longest such streak of his career. Moravian finally put a ball in play with two outs in the fourth but it was a fly out to left field to end the frame. 

After Daniel Tsimbinos reached on a dropped third strike in the bottom of the fifth, Jack Bateman and Chris Esquivel picked up back-to-back singles to load the bases for the Cardinals with no outs. The Greyhounds limited the damage in the inning however, inducing a double play on a ground ball to bring in the only Catholic run of the inning, keeping the deficit at just two. 

Tozzi continued to mow down the Moravian lineup as he did not allow a single hit from the second inning on while totaling 13 strikeouts during his start. The Greyhounds battled to get him out of the game in the top of the ninth with a one-out walk and single to put the tying run on base. Moravian then recorded three straight singles against the Catholic bullpen to tie the game up at two. Will Hanson dealt with a bases loaded one-out jam but steadied the ship and put away back-to-back hitters to keep the game tied at two.

After both teams went quietly in the 10th inning, the Cardinals received an opportunity to take the game in the bottom of the 11th after three walks loaded the bases with just one out with Ruiz coming to the plate. Ruiz was then hit by a pitch to score Mark Villanueva and secure a victory for Catholic in the opener. Catholic once again grabbed an early advantage in game one after Esquivel drew a lead-off walk and put himself into scoring position with a stolen base. Matt Perlin moved Esquivel up to third with a single that dropped just inside the right field line. Sammy Burman then picked up an RBI with a sacrifice fly into left field to bring in the game's first run. 

The Cardinals added on to the lead in the bottom of the third, sparked by a two-out single to center field from Burman before Matthew Fisher reached on an error to put two runners on for Chase Falcon. Falcon came through on the opportunity with a single into right field to score Burman, followed by an infield single from Eilbacher to extend the lead to 3-0.

Michael Napolitano started the bottom of the fourth off with a single to left center field and was moved into scoring position on a single by Esquivel. Perlin dropped down a bunt to load the bases for the Cardinals before Burman recorded another sac fly, this time into right field to bring Napolitano in to score. Catholic added on another run to the lead in the bottom of the fifth when Falcon scored on a throwing error from the catcher while at third base to make it a 5-0 lead.

Belli held the Greyhounds in check throughout his start, working through eight innings, and only allowing two runs to help the Cardinals continue to grow the lead. Catholic tacked on four more runs in the bottom of the eighth to solidify the lead, highlighted by an RBI double from Burman and a two-RBI single back up the middle from Napolitano.

Quinn Gillen got the ball in the last inning and settled in after a lead-off walk for a scoreless inning to secure a nine-run win for the Cardinals. Catholic has now won four straight games against Moravian and six of the last seven meetings.

Inside the Box Score

• Tozzi's 13 strikeouts in the game one victory were the most he has had in a start in his career and the most since the 2024 season. It is the second time in his career he reached 10+ strikeouts. Tozzi now holds a 3.86 ERA on the season, the lowest among qualified pitchers for the Cardinals this season.
• Belli turned in the longest outing of his young career, working through eight innings today with seven strikeouts. He earned his second career victory and now has a 4.54 ERA on the season with the second-most innings pitched on the team. 
• The Cardinals reached 11 stolen bases as a team in the game two win with 11, the most the team has had in a season, dating back to the 2013 season. Eilbacher moved his season total up to 21 which is tied with Brian Cashman for the eighth-most in a single season in program history.

Catholic concludes the series with Moravian on Sunday, April 11. First pitch is scheduled for 12 pm at Talbot Field.