Cardinals Win In Five With Dominant Performance

The CCBC Catonsville Cardinals welcomed Orange County Community College to their home field for game one of a Sunday afternoon double header. Coming off two grueling back to back losses to Cayuga, the team looked to bounce back and find their momentum.

To start the first inning off, Orange County's first three batters were sent back immediately after a strikeout and two ground outs from the Cardinals field. Going into the bottom of the first inning, Sophomore outfielder Angelo Ramirez (North Atlanta) would score the first run for the team, as he slid effortlessly to home plate. Freshman outfielder Jalen Williams (Western Tech) would get walked and eventually make his way to homebase on a wild pitch, to earn the second run on the Cardinals board. Freshman catcher Alex Valdez (Blair) would be the last one to sneak a score in before advancing to the next few innings. Throughout the first five innings, the Cardinals would hold Orange County scoreless. With Freshman pitcher Sean Driscoll (Audobon) posting six strikeouts to add onto the impending shutout. Along with a great double play at the top of fourth inning, sophomore shortstop Moises Aristy Jr. (Arundel) would bring in a fast grounder, tag second base and throw a quick strike to freshman first baseman Nick Stergiou (Broadneck) to send the Orange County batters off the field. Back to bat, Stergiou would hit to double to the left field and once again assist Aristy, allowing him to score one of two runs.

The bottom of the fifth inning would be the Cardinals last scoring opportunity, as they would eventually force a win through mercy rule. Freshman third baseman Nick Milum (Scotland Campus) would score after a Williams RBI. Sophomore shortstop Moises Aristy Jr. (Arundel) would hit a single and then proceed to slide to second from an Orange County error. This would allow Ramirez and sophomore second baseman Orlando Perez Jr. (Winter Park) and advance the score with two runs. Aristy would then finally give the Cardinals a 10 run lead and end this game short. In an elite performance of offensive and defensive power, the Cardinals bounced back in a major way, with their second highest scoring performance of the season. They now look to carry this momentum into game two of this double header.