Cardinals sweep CCBC Dundalk in two-game series

Game 1: Catonsville 12, Dundalk, 1. WP—Travis Weaver (1-0), LP—Ben Hall (0-1).

The Cardinals got off to a strong start, with Aronne Dutton scoring the first run after a fielder's choice from Nick Carpio. Travis Weaver of the Cardinals then went on to strike out the first two batters in the bottom of the first, followed by a quick grounded out to end the inning. 

The Cardinals' dominance continued throughout the rest of the game. After three walks given up by Dundalk in the top of the third, the Cardinals were able to put three runs on the board with hits from Cesar Castillo Baez and Orlando Perez Jr. Heading into the fifth inning, Dundalk's pitchers continued to struggle, giving up five runs on two hits, three walks, two hit by a pitch, and a wild pitch. The Cardinals then ended their downpour on Dundalk with three runs scored in the sixth by Orlando Perez Jr., Trevor Smoot, and Aronne Dutton. 

The game came to an end early after the seventh inning for a final score of 12-1. The Cardinals improved their record to 4-2 (conf. 4-0) and the CCBC Dundalk Lions fell to 1-3 (conf. 1-3). 

Game 2: Catonsville 13, Dundalk 5. WP—Dan Delaney (2-0), LP—Nate Griffin (0-2).

The Cardinals once again got off to a hot start against Dundalk at home, with Aronne Dutton hitting a homerun to right field and Wyatt Moore scoring off a triple to right field from Sam Rodriguez in the bottom of the first. 

The Cardinals took a lead of 4-1 heading into the third, but Dundalk saw some light mid-game and brought the Cardinals lead to only one, with a score of 5-4 by the end of the fourth. The Cardinals were able to hold their lead early on thanks to two homeruns from J.R. Simmons in the second and fourth innings for three total RBIs. 

The Cardinals really let it loose on Dundalk in the bottom of the sixth inning when they would go on to score seven runs. After an intentional walk, the bases were loaded in the bottom of the sixth when Caleb Bailey would hit a double to center field allowing two runs to come home. The Cardinals would then score five more runs in the sixth with hits from Nick Carpio, Alex Elliot, and Cesar Castillo Baez. 

The game was called after the top of the eighth inning for daylight at a final score of 13-5. The Cardinals improved their record to 5-2 (conf. 5-0) and the CCBC Dundalk Lions fell to 1-4 (conf. 1-4).

Next Up:

The Cardinals take on Potomac State College of West Virginia University this Saturday, March 13^th at 1:00 p.m. in a double-header, followed by another double-header at home this Sunday, March 14^th against Northampton Community College at 12:00 p.m.