Cardinals Comeback Comes Up Short

The 2023 baseball season has begun for CCBC Catonsville, as the Cardinals (0-3) suffered a tough loss against the Lake-Sumter State College Lakehawks (5-8).

Coming off a pair of losses to Seminole State College of Florida on Saturday, the Cardinals looked to rebound with the third game of their week-long road trip in Florida. Despite keeping the game close, the Cardinals were unable to close out a ninth-inning comeback, falling 4-3.

Catonsville started the game strong defensively, allowing just one hit through the first two innings. The first runs came in the top of the third thanks to some veteran help. After he was hit by a pitch, sophomore outfielder Wyatt Moore (West Orange) scored on a groundout by sophomore catcher Tony D'Angeli (Atholton). The Lakehawks would respond in the bottom of the third, as one sac-fly later, they had tied the score at 1-1.

A two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth gave Lake-Sumter a 3-1 lead. Now trailing by two, the Cardinals needed a response. They got one thanks to freshman pitcher John Perozzi (Audubon) who pitched two scoreless innings after the home run. A home run by sophomore outfielder Miles Bowens (Tucker) in the top of the sixth allowed the Cardinals to close in on the Lakehawks, trailing just by one.

Lake-Sumter responded quickly, reestablishing their two-run lead with a home run in the bottom of the seventh. Now needing a late comeback, the Cardinals started brewing one in the top of the ninth. With two on and a runner in scoring position, the Cardinals got a big burst of momentum. Sophomore infielder Christian Figueroa (St. Mary's) bunted, driving home freshman catcher Alex Valdez (Blair) to make it a 4-3 game. With two runners in scoring position, the Cardinals needed the momentum to continue, but the next three batters were all caught out. This ended any chance of victory for Catonsville.

Catonsville's next contest will be against the College of Central Florida on Tuesday, February 21.