WASHINGTON, D.C. - The 20th-ranked Catholic baseball team opened up the 2023 campaign with a doubleheader sweep of Dickinson on Sunday afternoon in D.C., winning 3-2 and 13-7. This is the third time in the last six seasons that Catholic has started 2-0.
GAME 1 - Catholic 3-2 Dickinson (7 innings)
There is no more exciting way to win a baseball game than a walk-off and what better time to get one than the season opener? After the Cardinals led 2-0 for the majority of game one, they needed some heroics to win it in regulation after Dickinson tied the contest at 2-2 in the sixth. Zach Burton played the role of hero in the bottom of the seventh inning, walking the game off with a two-out RBI single to center, scoring pinch runner Mark Villanueva for a game-one victory. Matthew Fisher led off the Catholic inning with a free pass. Villanueva came on as the pinch runner and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt from Derek Zelesnick. Dante Pozzi flew out to center, but Villanueva moved 90 feet closer to victory for the Cardinals. Burton looped a single into center to win it for the Cardinals.
Tucker Alch was dominant in his first start of the season, facing the minimum across five scoreless innings and allowing just one hit in the Cardinals' 3-2 victory in game one. Alch left the game in line for the win after striking out eight hitters, but the Red Devils tied the contest, leaving Alch with a no decision.
The Cardinals struck in the second inning, scoring a pair to take a 2-0 lead against the Red Devils. Joe Marini led off the inning with a single up the middle and advanced into scoring position on a Mitchel Johnson single through the left side. Jesse Lacefield drove in the first run of the contest with a single to center, but Lacefield was thrown out at second trying to advance. Fisher scored Johnson with a single to right and the Cardinals had an early two-run advantage.
Alch continued to coast, not allowing a hit until Christian Kim singled to right to open up the fifth frame. Alch retired the next batter on a fielder's choice, and then picked off the runner before a strikeout ended the inning and his day on the mound.
Cody Bosak came on to pitch the sixth inning with Catholic leading by a pair and proceeded to strike out the first batter he saw. Dickinson's Ryan Thompson and Nathan Bowman doubled and singled for the Red Devils to put two runners on with just one away. Bosak retired the next batter on a fly ball to left and Thompson moved up from second to third on the fly out. Dylan Posencheg blasted a two-out triple to right center to tie the contest at 2-2.
Brendan Martin (1-0) earned the win in relief for Catholic, pitching a scoreless top of the seventh. Austin Buzza (0-1) earned the loss for Dickinson. Johnson was the lone Catholic hitter with a multi-hit game in the opener.
GAME 2 - Catholic 13-7 Dickinson (9 innings)
The second game saw significantly more action as Catholic registered 12 hits and drew nine walks en route to 13 runs in the victory while Dickinson racked up seven hits and nine walks. Six different Cardinals reached base multiple times in the contest with Lucas Malave leading the way with three hits and four runs batted in. Freshman Michael Napolitano also added three hits and an RBI.
The Cardinals held a 7-0 lead after six innings of relatively standard action before a wild 13-run seventh inning broke out. The Cardinals picked up a pair of runs in the first with Burton driving in Pozzi with an RBI double to right center. Malave made it 2-0 Catholic with a single to right, scoring Burton.
Catholic added two more in the third as Napolitano drove in his first career run with a base knock to center, scoring Johnson who doubled to lead off the inning. Napolitano came around to score after a Dickinson error on a Pozzi ground ball to third and the Cardinals held a 4-0 lead after three. Three innings marked the end of the line for starter Danny Fitzgerald who allowed just one hit and struck out four in his time on the mound.
The fifth inning saw the first big fly of the year for Catholic as Ben Nardi drove one to right for a solo homer, making it 5-0 Catholic. Malave drove in his second run of the game in the bottom of the sixth to make it 6-0 before Nardi scored on a balk to give Catholic a 7-0 advantage.
Things got interesting in the seventh as the Red Devils sent 13 batters to the plate, scoring seven runs on four hits and leaving the bags full. Bowman and Kenny Tagliarini hit a double and a triple back-to-back to push Will Hanson from the game and bring the Red Devils within four. Posencheg singled up the middle to make it 7-4 with Skylar McLean on the mound. Johnny Bruno drove in two with a single to left center to pull Dickinson within one before Jake Kenney issued a walk with the bags full to tie the game before recording a strikeout to end the inning.
Now tied 7-7, Catholic didn't wait long to retake the lead. Napolitano singled to open the bottom half of the inning and was replaced by Villanueva as a pinch runner. Zelesnick and Pozzi walked to load the bases, forcing a Dickinson pitching change. Burton picked up an RBI with a bases-loaded walk to push the Cardinals back ahead. Nardi was hit by a pitch and the Cardinals led it 9-7. Malavave singled, scoring two, and just like that it was 11-7 Cardinals. Lacefield picked up a pinch-hit two-run single later in the inning to make it 13-7.
Lucky Perrotto pitched the final 1.2 innings, striking out three and allowing just one hit to help Catholic close out the sweep. Kenney picked up the win for the Cardinals while Peyton Fox took the loss.
With a pair of wins today, Ross Natoli is now just one win shy of 750 for his career. His first chance at the milestone comes on Tuesday afternoon at St. Mary's (Md.).