Cardinal Sports Report: February 19 to February 25
Image courtesy of James Moore and Catholic Athletics.
By Griffin Cappiello
Baseball opened their season (and the newly renovated Robert J. Talbot Field) this past weekend, hosting the Matt Kurkjian ALS Awareness Invitational. Click here for in-depth coverage of their opening weekend. On Wednesday evening, the Cardinals picked up an 11-8 comeback win against York. The Spartans opened the game by scoring five5 runs in the first inning, but Burman hit a 3-run homer in the second, and La. Eilbacher hit a 2-run homer in the third. In the fourth inning, Burman hit an RBI triple, and he was brought home by a Lo. Eilbacher ground ball to second. Bateman hit a 2-run homer in the fifth to give the Cards their first lead of the game, and Burman hit an RBI double to complete the cycle and add another run. In the sixth, Esquivel was walked with the bases loaded, and the Cards tallies another run. Burman became the first player in the Landmark era (2008-present) to hit for the cycle and tied his career-high with 5 RBIs. Catholic will return to action with a doubleheader at home this Saturday, February 26, against RPI.
Men’s Track and Field competed in the Father Diamond Invitational hosted by George Mason last weekend. Sophomore Shane Waring ran a personal-best 4:43.92 in the mile. Freshman Drew Madden was the first Division III runner in the 60-meter hurdles, while sophomore Nathan Chaney and junior Josh Phillips each recorded new personal bests, running times of 8.89 and 9.33, respectively. Phillips also ran a personal best in the 400 meters, recording a time of 56.44. Sophomore Patrick Morris finished third in the 3000 meters with a personal-best time of 9:28.46, and Madden placed first in the high jump, jumping 1.90 meters. The Cardinals will return to action this Saturday, February 28, at the Landmark Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships.
Women’s Track and Field also competed in the Father Diamond Invitational this past weekend. Freshman Ainsley Reisman finished fourth in the 60 meters; her personal-best 8.28 is the eighth-best in program history. Freshman Rachel Sprauer ran a personal-best 10.23 in the 60-meter hurdles, the tenth-best time in program history, and sophomore Kate Quashne earned a first-place finish in the long jump with a 4.78-meter jump. The Cardinals will return to action this Saturday, February 28, at the Landmark Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships.
Softball opened their season (and their newly renovated softball field) on Saturday with a doubleheader against Ursinus. Click here for in-depth coverage of their opening weekend. On Wednesday night, the Cardinals picked up two wins in a doubleheader at home against Hood. Webber hit an RBI double in the first, and Catholic added two more runs in the second off of a sac fly by Grillo and another RBI for Webber. The floodgates opened in the fourth inning, as the Cardinals put together a run of stolen bases to get runners into scoring position, and Scolese and Hatcliffe hit back-to-back doubles. With the Cards up 10-0 after five innings, the run-ahead rule was declared and gave Catholic their first win on the day. In the second game of the doubleheader, the Cardinals picked up right where they left off, adding a run in the first thanks to quality base-running by Grillo and Hatcliffe, and Webber hit a 2-RBI double in the second. In the sixth, Webber hit a 2-RBI single and Faxon hit a 2-RBI double, and a sac fly by sophomore Gianna Samperi to score Hatcliffe gave Catholic the 8-0 walk-off win. The Cardinals will return to action this Friday, February 25, at home against Case Western in the first game of this weekend’s Catholic Softball Tournament.
Men’s Lacrosse went on the road to face off against Haverford last Saturday. The Cards put up a good effort, but ultimately fell 11-2. Junior Cullen Lotz and sophomore Alejandro Masferer were the only Cardinals to find the back of the net, while sophomore goalkeeper Colton Manorek made a career-high 20 saves. On Wednesday night, Catholic hosted Ursinus and fell in a back-and-forth 15-14 game. Freshman Burke Healy had an incredible night, scoring six6 goals, more than any other player on the field. Lotz scored two2 and recorded two2 assists to tally four4 points on the evening. Defensively, Manorek made 16 saves, and junior Zach Gibson picked up 5 ground balls. The Cardinals will return to action next Wednesday against St. Mary’s, the first of a three-game road trip.
Women’s Lacrosse played their first road match of the season against #16 TCNJ. Despite a strong performance by the Cardinals, they fell 12-8. Junior Annie Garlaza opened the scoring for Catholic in the first quarter, and sophomores Henley Bredemann and Maddie McDevitt added goals in the second quarter. Bredemann scored a second goal in extra-man offence to see out the first half. Juniors Maggie Trainor and Ellie Verrill scored in the third quarter, and Bredemann and Lindsay Sawyer each scored in the fourth quarter. Sophomore goalkeeper Alexandra Ragano recorded 10 saves. The Cardinals will return to action this Saturday, February 28, on the road against Roanoke.
Men’s Basketball hosted Scranton last Saturday in their final regular season game of the season and celebrated their senior day. The Cardinals dominated the game and came away with a convincing 87-50 win. Sophomore guard Peter Gellene led the team with 16 points. Senior forwards Charley Hepting and Jamie Ntiamoah and senior guard Brian Herbert all tallied double-digit points, scoring 15, 12, and 11, respectively. The Cardinals go into the Landmark Conference Tournament as the one seed, giving them a bye in the First Round. They will host four-seeded Wilkes in the Landmark Conference Tournament Semifinals this Thursday, February 26. At the time of writing, this game has not yet been played.
Women’s Basketball played their final regular season game at home against #2 Scranton last Saturday. The Cards put up a good fight, but fell 78-40 to the Royals. Sophomore guard McKenna Karlson led the team with 8 points. In the First Round of the Landmark Conference Tournament, fourth-seeded Catholic defeated fifth-seeded Moravian 76-65. Click here for in-depth coverage of this game. The Cardinals will return to action in the Landmark Conference Semifinals this Thursday, February 26, on the road against first-seeded Scranton. At the time of writing, this game has not yet been played.
For more information on all things Catholic Athletics, visit catholicathletics.com or follow @catholicu_cards on social media.
