Cardinals Drop Two to the Knights
Catonsville, MD- After two mid-week contests against sister campus CCBC Essex, CCBC Catonsville drops to 4-7 on the season.
Game 1:
Cardinals (3), Knights (9). WP- Jeffery Young (1-0), LP- Preston Mauzy (0-1)
Although the Cardinals strung together 10 hits through the Tuesday contest, they were unable to provide opportune hitting- leaving a total of eight runners on base.
Trevor Smoot, Nick Carpio, and Cesar Castillo Baez all went 2-4 during the matchup. Carpio would hit a double and a homerun, giving the Cardinals two of their three runs. Tyler Shadle racked up three hits in four at bats and would play stellar defense behind the plate.
Aronne Dutton provided an ESPN caliber play for Catonsville. The sophomore made a leaping grab at the wall to save an extra-base hit- then managed to double up the Knights runner that left second base prematurely.
Despite the solid defense and productive plate appearances, the Cardinals were unable to best the Knights- who provided even better at-bats and more productive pitching.
Jeffery Young would pitch a gem for the Knights as he went six innings, gave up three runs, no walks, and fanned 10 Cardinals.
Game 2:
Cardinals (11), Knights (12). WP- Joshua Carrasco (1-0), LP- Jason Skeen (0-2)
Despite the Cardinals having an eight-run lead heading into the seventh inning, they would come out of the matchup with a one-run loss after eight completed innings.
Sophomore Travis Weaver had the start for Catonsville, and his outing was more than decent enough to earn the win. Weaver threw six solid innings, gave up just four hits, four earned runs, and fanned six. However, once Weaver made his exit- the relief pitchers could not hold their own along with the five errors committed during the matchup.
Aronne Dutton once again had himself a game. Dutton would go yard on the first pitch for the Cardinals, then would turn around and bunt for a base hit during his second at bat, and eventually steal two bags. Nick Carpio would go 2-3 with a double and an RBI on a sacrifice fly in the second inning. Freshman Chris Pizarro would go 3-5 during the contest with a deep right field homerun and recorded three RBIs. Sam Rodriguez would go 2-2 with two walks and two RBIs batting cleanup, as well as a deep homerun to extend the Cardinals lead at the time.
On the defensive side of the game, Trevor Smoot played a solid shortstop for Catonsville. With a few on-the-run throws and great range, Smoot would provide some key plays to keep the Cardinals in the lead.
In the seventh inning, the Knight's bats would come alive. After giving up two walks, Weaver was pulled from the game. After a deep double that would score two, an error committed by Sam Rodriguez would ignite a fire in the Essex club. Former Cardinal Lucas Carr would pinch hit for the Knights and provided an Earl Weaver special in order to get the chains moving even further. The bottom of the seventh would prove lackluster for Catonsville, as they only could get one runner on base. After the seventh, the game would be called due to lack of daylight- giving Catonsville the 12-11 loss.
Catonsville looks to improve upon their record Saturday, March 7th with a doubleheader against conference rival Allegany College. The games will begin at approximately 12:00PM and 2:30PM at the bird's nest.