Offense Leads the way in 2 Game Sweep for the Cardinals
Offense Leads the way in 2 Game Sweep for the Cardinals
Catonsville, MD- After two tough mid-week losses, the baseball team bounced back and got back to its winning ways over the weekend. The offense exploded for 17 runs against Allegany while winning game one by a score of 7-3 and pulling out a tough victory in game two by a score of 10-9. The Cardinals rallied together and came from behind in each of the games on Saturday afternoon, using both key hits as well as timely bunts and situational hitting to put themselves in a good position to pick up the victories.
Game 1
Game one was a pitching battle for the first few innings, as both teams struggled to get the offenses going. Catonsville got the scoring started in the bottom of the second when Cesar Castillo Baez ripped a double to right field bringing home Trevor Smoot to go ahead 1-0. The Cardinals would not hold this lead long as a costly error allowed the inning to continue for Allegany and they would put up two runs in the top of the third to take the lead.
Tyler Green would settle in on the mound after the rough inning continuing his dominant start to the season. The sophomore would not allow another run until the seventh inning, finishing the day with a complete game allowing only two earned runs and striking out seven batters.
Heading into the bottom of the fifth, the score remained 2-1 but the Catonsville offense finally broke through. Chris Pizarro got the inning started with a perfect bunt single down the third baseline and the Allegany pitchers would struggle to find the zone after this. James Hurst followed with a walk, and then Aronne Dutton executed a perfect sacrifice bunt to put two in scoring position with just one out. Two more walks followed to tie up the game, then Sam Rodriguez delivered in a huge spot with a two RBI double to right field to take a 4-2 lead. Adrian Lucre kept the big inning going with a two RBI single to stretch the lead to 6-2 and there would be no looking back for the Cardinals. Nick Carpio would add some insurance with an RBI double in the bottom of the sixth on the way to the 7-3 victory in game one of the doubleheader.
Tyler Green moves to 2-1 on the season with the victory, and now has 26 strikeouts in just 22 2/3 innings pitched. Tyler Shadle and Sam Rodriguez each recorded two hits in the contest, and Rodriguez, Lucre, and Carpio all had two RBI's each.
Game 2
Game two did not start off in the Cardinals favor, as Allegany's offense came ready to play putting up three runs in the first and another two in the top of the third to take an early 5-0 lead. Starter Dan Delaney would only last 2 1/3 innings on the day, allowing four earned runs. Preston Mauzy replaced Delaney in the third and escaped a jam leaving two runners on base and giving the offense a chance to get back into the game.
The first run of the game for Catonsville came in the bottom of the third when Adrian Lucre continued to stay on fire delivering an RBI single to make it a 5-1 game. The offense truly broke through in the fourth inning erupting for seven runs, and claiming their first lead of the game. The pitching woes continued for Allegany and their bullpen in this one as five of the seven runs in the inning were recorded by a bases loaded walk or hit by pitch. Adrian Lucre delivered the only RBI hit of the inning, his second RBI single of the day.
Preston Mauzy would work through the fifth inning, finishing the day going 2 2/3 innings pitched allowing only two runs, no hits, and striking out three out of the bullpen. Allegany would not go down without an answer, putting up three runs in the top of the sixth to cut their deficit to 10-8. Aronne Dutton would deliver perhaps the play of the game with an absolutely perfect throw from center field to cut off an Allegany runner from scoring which would have made it a one run ballgame at the time. Trevor Smoot would escape the jam for the Cardinals taking the two run lead into the last inning. Smoot found himself in a jam in the seventh, allowing an RBI single to make it a one run game and loading the bases with two outs. The sophomore escaped with a slow grounder to second base which Chris Pizarro tossed over to first base to secure the sweep of the doubleheader for the Cardinals.
Freshman Preston Mauzy picked up the well-earned win on the mound, the first of his college career. Adrian Lucre continued his big day in this one going 3-5 with three RBI singles and raised his batting average to .324 through 12 games. Six other Cardinals added RBI's in this all around effort. Discipline at the plate also played a large role as Catonsville batters forced 14 walks from Allegany's pitchers in this one.
Up Next
The Cardinals needed these two wins, and improve their record two 6-7 on the season with them. The offense has seemed to find their stride, recording 29 runs in the last three games. They will look to make it three straight when they visit sister school and region opponent CCBC Dundalk on Tuesday, March 10th at 3:30 PM.