Cardinal Sports Report: February 26 to March 4

Image courtesy of Leyton Ramos-Platt and Catholic Athletics.

By Sam Bergstrom and Griffin Cappiello

Men’s Basketball squared off with Wilkes in the Landmark Conference Semifinal on Thursday. This was a feisty match throughout, with players from both teams diving for loose balls and fans pleading for fouls. Senior guards CJ Ruoff and Brian Herbert each scored 16 points for Catholic. Sophomore guard Peter Gellene pulled off the highlight of the game, breaking his opponent’s ankles with a filthy crossover eurostep in the second half. Unfortunately, the Colonels were able to hit clutch shots down the stretch, and fourth-seeded Wilkes handed first-seeded Catholic a 79-70 upset loss. Despite the loss, Catholic qualified for the NCAA Tournament as an at-large bid with a 19-7 overall record, going 15-3 in Landmark Conference play. The Cards have qualified for the tournament for three consecutive seasons and reached the Elite Eight in last year’s NCAA Tournament, before falling to eventual national champions, Trinity. The Cardinals will look to rebound in the first round of the tournament on March 6 against Western Connecticut. Catholic received several All-Landmark Conference honors. CJ Ruoff was named to the All-Conference First Team and was named the Landmark Conference Player of the Year, the third straight year a Cardinal received this honor. Brian Herbert was also named to the All-Conference First Team, and head coach Aaron Kelly, assistant coach Jack Fitzpatrick, and assistant coach Eli Reinhardt were named the Landmark Conference Coaching Staff of the Year, the second time Coach Kelly’s staff received this honor. 

Women’s Basketball took on the two-seeded Scranton Lady Royals in the Landmark Conference Semifinal. Catholic was looking to keep it rolling after their electric 76-65 win over Moravian in the Landmark Conference First Round playoff on Thursday. However, on Thursday, the fourth-seeded Cardinals would fall to first-seeded Scranton 74-36, eliminating them from the Landmark Conference Tournament. The Cards finished the season with an 18-9 overall record, going 14-4 in Landmark Conference play. Catholic received a pair of All-Landmark Conference honors. Anna Scoblick was named to the First Team All-Conference for the third season in a row, and Amelia Kennedy received an Honorable Mention. 

Softball hosted the Catholic Softball Tournament over the weekend. On Friday, they fell in a narrow 4-3 game to Case Western. The Cards put up 2 runs in the first inning off of errors, and senior Sam Grillo extended the Cardinals’ lead with an RBI in the second. Unfortunately, the Spartans would score 3 in the third and hit a game-winner in extra innings. On Saturday, Catholic played a second game against Case Western. Senior Aubrynn Arcement hit an RBI off a groundout to short in the second. In the third inning, senior Katie Scolese got an RBI on a groundout to short, and senior Elise Faxon hit an RBI double. Scolese hit another RBI in the seventh, but it wasn’t enough, and the Cards fell 10-4. In their second game of the day, Catholic faced off against Roanoke. Senior Olivia Stinchcomb hit an RBI to open the scoring in the first, and junior Katie McHugh hit an RBI single in the fourth. Stinchcomb hit a 2-run homer in the fifth, but the Cards fell 5-4. On Sunday, Catholic played another game against Roanoke. Scolese hit a homer in the second inning to start the scoring for the Cards, and they added a second run in the sixth off a chaotic play that began with McHugh fouling out. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough, and the Maroons took it 6-2. After Tuesday’s games were postponed due to weather, the Cardinals are set to return to action next Monday, March 9, against Loras.

Men’s Track and Field competed in the Landmark Conference Championships on Saturday. Freshman Drew Madden and sophomore Quinn Brubaker took first and second place, respectively, in the high jump. Freshman Michael Brunet ran a 4:17.56 in the mile, capturing first place and setting a new meet record. He also placed third in the 3000 meters, running an 8:46.51. Senior Nicholas Chang took second in the triple jump with a personal-best jump of 13.08 meters, and sophomore Sean Owens ran a new personal best in the 400 meters with a time of 50.94, earning a third-place finish and entering the record books as the third-best time in program history. Freshman Calvin Hernandez finished first in the 60 meters with a time of 6.96, the second-best time in program history. Senior Kendrick DuPree and sophomore Peter Winter finished second and third, respectively, in the 800 meters. The Cardinals finished first in the 4×400 Relay, with a team that included Owens, Winter, DuPree, and junior Emmanuel Olarewaju. Catholic recorded a total of 116.33 points and finished third overall. The Cards received many All-Landmark Conference recognitions, with Michael Brunet being named the Landmark Conference Rookie of the Year after picking up the same honor during the cross country season. Brunet was also named to the All-Conference First Team for the mile and received an Honorable Mention for the 3000 meters. Calvin Hernandez received First Team recognition in the 60 meters, and Drew Madden and Quin Brubaker were named to the First and Second Teams, respectively, for the high jump. Nicholas Chang earned Second Team honors for the triple jump, while Kendrick DuPree was named to the Second Team, and Peter Winter received an Honorable Mention for the 800 meters. The Catholic 4×400 Relay team received First Team honors for their performance. This weekend, the Cardinals will compete in the South Region Final Qualifier, and some Cardinals will compete in the Tufts National Qualifying Meet. 

Women’s Track and Field also competed in the Landmark Conference Championships. Freshman Olivia Sobkowicz started off the meet with a win in the 5000 meters, setting a new meet record with a time of 17:41.01. Junior Laurel McMahon finished second in the 3000 meters with a personal-best time of 10:28.69. The Cardinals finished first in the 4000-meter Distance Medley Relay with a team that included freshmen Mya Sampong, Riley Walsh, Kate Hannan, and Erin Roche. The Cards also picked up a win in the 4×400 Relay with a team that featured juniors Mia McConnell, Brigid Byrnes, Zoey Brown, and Alicia Vo. Catholic continued their relay success with a second-place finish in the 4×200 Relay, with a team made up of juniors Erin Buckley and Felicity Giampietro, freshman Ainsley Reisman, and sophomore Kortney Clipper. Freshman Chloe Dodd claimed third in the pole vault with a personal-best height of 3.05 meters. Catholic totaled 111 points and finished third overall. The Cardinals received several All-Landmark Conference honors. Olivia Sobkowicz was named the Landmark Conference Rookie of the Year after receiving the same honor during the cross country season. Sobkowicz was also named to the First Team All-Conference for her performance in the 5000 meters. Laurel McMahon received Second Team honors for her performance in the 3000 meters. Junior Edith Tomasek earned an Honorable Mention in the high jump, and Chloe Dodd received an Honorable Mention for the pole vault. The Catholic Distance Medley Relay team and the 4×400 Relay team each were named to the First Team All-Conference, while the 4×200 Relay team received Second Team honors. This weekend, the Cardinals will compete in the South Region Final Qualifier, and some Cardinals will compete in the Tufts National Qualifying Meet. 

Baseball hosted RPI in a doubleheader last Saturday. In the first game, junior Jack Bateman opened the scoring with an RBI single in the fourth inning. A walk with the bases loaded added another run for the Cardinals, and freshman Luke Forde hit a sac fly to record the first RBI of his career. In the fifth, freshman Daniel Tsimbinos hit a 2 RBI single to tie the game at 5 runs apiece, and a throwing error by the Engineers gave the Cards a 6-5 lead. In the seventh, Bateman hit an RBI double, and Tsambinos hit an RBI single to tie the game at 8. Grad student Matthew Fisher hit an RBI single in the eighth, and junior Lance Eilbacher hit a 2 RBI double to give the Cards an 11-8 lead. RPI added 2 runs in the ninth, but it wasn’t enough, and Catholic took the first game 11-10. In the second game of the doubleheader, junior Logan Eilbacher hit a 2-run homer to open the scoring in the first inning. In the second, senior Chris Esquivel hit an RBI triple and went ahead to score on the throw after junior Gabriel Ruiz stole second. Junior Matt Perlin hit a 2 RBI double in the sixth, and the Cardinals won the game 6-3. On Sunday, Catholic welcomed Marymount to Talbot Field. A throwing error by the Saints gave the Cards their first run of the day. Fisher hit an RBI single, and junior Chase Falcon hit a 2 RBI double to extend the Cardinals’ lead to 4-1 after the first inning. In the sixth, Perlin hit a 2 RBI double, and in the eighth, Falcon hit an RBI double and came in to score off a wild pitch. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough, and Catholic fell 13-8. After their game on Tuesday was postponed, the Cardinals will return to action this Saturday, March 7, at home against Coast Guard.  

Women’s Lacrosse went on the road to play Roanoke last Saturday afternoon. Sophomore Henley Bredemann opened the scoring for the Cardinals in the first quarter. Senior Tori Wilsey added a second, and Bredemann scored her second goal on the day to give the Cards a 3-0 lead at the end of the quarter. The Maroons had the upper hand in the second quarter, but senior Lindsay Sawyer added a goal, and Catholic went into the halftime break down 6-4. Sawyer scored twice in the third quarter, and Bredemann scored her third goal of the day. Senior Maddie Rinker and junior Annie Galarza also scored, and the Cardinals led 9-8 going into the final quarter. In the fourth quarter, the Cards scored four straight goals, as junior Maggie Traynor, sophomore Maddie McDevitt, Sawyer, and senior Izzy Fiore each found the back of the net, and Catholic came away with a 13-12 win. The Cardinals will return to action this Saturday, March 7, on the road against Washington and Lee. 

Men’s Lacrosse went on the road to face off against St. Mary’s. The Seahawks scored first, but sophomore Ryan Carickhoff responded with a goal with two seconds left in the first quarter. Seniors Chris McCabe and Brady McMahon added goals in the second quarter, but the Seahawks tied the game at 3 goals apiece going into the fourth quarter. Senior Steven Dezelic broke the deadlock, but St. Mary’s tied it up again. With two minutes left on the clock, sophomore Alejandro Masferrer scored the game-winner to take the game 5-4. The Cardinals will return to action this Saturday, March 7, on the road against Washington College. 

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