Cardinals Win Early Game of the Year Contest
On March 9th, the Cardinals baseball team took on rivals CCBC Dundalk, where a back-and-forth battle resulted in a 9-6 win for the Cardinals.
The Cardinals would take an early lead in the game. However, late in the game the Cardinals would find themselves down a run in the bottom of the eighth. Thanks to a no-doubt-about-it grand slam from Nick Stergiou (Broadneck High School) the Cardinals would retake the lead and hold on to win 9-6 in a game that was an early contestant for game of the year.
The Cardinals offense would start out strong, with them taking a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second. Dundalk would answer back in the top of the third, scoring two runs to make it a 3-2 game. In the sixth inning, both teams would score one run a piece, making it a 4-3 game in favor of the Cardinals.
The eighth inning was quite a roller coaster of emotions for Cardinals fans. Dundalk would take the lead 5-4 thanks to a home run. The Cardinals were looking to respond in the bottom of the eighth. The Cardinals bats would start to heat up as the sun continued to set and the temperature started to drop. Stepping up to the plate was Nick Stergiou, who homered against Lakeland Community College the weekend prior. Stergiou was looking to do some damage and break the game open for the Cardinals, and he did just that. With a deep drive into left field Stergiou put the Cardinals up three, hitting his second home run in the past four games, this one being a grand slam! The dugout and press box went crazy as he rounded the bases! The Cardinals were able to add one more run in the bottom of the eighth, giving them a 9-5 lead with three outs left to get. Dylan Berndt (South Carroll High School) would close out the game for the Cardinals, winning 9-6 over their rivals.
In a post-game interview with Nick Stergiou, when asked about what was going through his head as he was stepping up to the plate with the bases loaded, Stergiou replied that "I'm just trying to not overthink, really just trying to focus, deep breaths, not try to do too much."
For the Cardinals offense, Nick Stergiou led the way with four RBI's. Orlando Perez Jr. (Winter Park High School) went 2-3 with two RBI's. Moises Aristy Jr. (Arundel High School) went 2-4, with one RBI and two runs scored. Dylan Berndt would earn his first save of the season.
The Cardinals are now 4-7.
