HUNTINGDON, Pa.  – The Catholic baseball team came into Wednesday's game against Juniata riding high with seven straight wins, looking to keep pace in the Landmark Conference standings. The Eagles grabbed the lead in the third inning and were able to hold the Cardinals in check for much of the afternoon to come away with an 8-5 win, dropping Catholic to 19-15 on the season.

The Cardinals cracked the scoreboard first in the top of the first when Matt Perlin put himself into scoring position with a double to left field, before scoring when Sammy Burman reached on an error that trickled into right field to allow Perlin to score. Lance Eilbacher picked up an RBI in the inning as well on fielder's choice to bring Burman to the plate to extend the lead to two. 

Juniata responded to tie things up in the bottom of the second when Charlie Bakken poked a single into left center to bring in the second run of the inning. The Eagles kept that momentum rolling in the next frame with two more runs on RBI singles from Jackson Cunnane and David Beard to take a 4-2 advantage. 

Michael Napolitano gave Catholic a jolt when he mashed a solo homer in the top of the fourth, his third of the season, to bring the Cardinals back within a run. Juniata however responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning on another RBI single, this time from Zach Johnston to make it a 5-3 ballgame. 

The Eagles would add on three more runs throughout the course of the game, two of which came in the bottom of the eighth, to add some insurance on to the lead. Burman tried to spark a comeback for Catholic in the top of the ninth when he launched a two-run homer to pull it within three with two outs in the inning. The Cardinals had the tying run in the on-deck circle but were unable to keep the rally going as they fell to the Eagles 8-5 to drop to 9-12 in conference play.

Inside the Box Score

• Burman's home run in the ninth inning was his ninth of the season and he continues to sit second in the Landmark in round trippers. His long ball moved him into a tie for fifth on the program's single-season home run list with Ben Nardi (2021). He drove in three runs in the game as well to bring his season total to 41 which is third-most in the conference.
• Matthew Fisher and Perlin each had multi-hit games for the Cardinals to put them at third and fourth on the team in hits this season respectively. Perlin now holds the third-best batting average on the squad this season at .330.
• The Eagles made the most of their opportunity with runners on base throughout the contest, going 5-for-13 as a team (.385) to help secure the victory. 

The Cardinals are back in action on Saturday, April 25 for a doubleheader against Wilkes in the final conference series of the season. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 12 pm at Bruggeworth Field.