Cardinal Sports Report: March 5 to March 11

Image courtesy of Michael Last and Tufts Athletics.

By Griffin Cappiello

Men’s Basketball competed in the NCAA DIII Tournament. In the first round, the Cardinals matched up against Western Connecticut. Up 31-22 at halftime, the Cards held off a rally from the Wolves and came away with a 71-69 victory. Senior guard Brian Herbert led the team with 17 points, while junior guard Googie Seidman scored 14 and senior guard CJ Ruoff scored 11. Freshman forward Michael Dankert recorded the first double-double of his career, with 10 points and a team-high 11 rebounds. In the second round of the tournament, Catholic faced off against Tufts. The Cardinals took a 31-26 lead going into the halftime break, but the Jumbos were able to rally in the second half and took away a 74-60 win. Ruoff led the Cards with 23 points, while Herbert scored 16.  

Men’s Track and Field competed in the Shenandoah South Regional Qualifier. Freshman Drew Madden represented the Cardinals in the heptathlon. Madden set a new school record with 4,339 points, finishing second overall and first among Division III athletes. He set personal bests in the 60 meters, long jump, and high jump. 

Women’s Track and Field also participated in the Shenandoah South Regional Qualifier. Freshman Lauryn Pearson competed in the pentathlon and set a new program record with 2,904 points. She recorded personal bests in the high jump, shot put, and 800 meters. 

Men’s Lacrosse continued their road trip against Washington College. Sophomore Will Gilfillan led the Cards with 3 goals, while junior Logan Farrington, freshman Burke Healy, and sophomore Ryan Carickhoff each added a goal of their own. Sophomore goalkeeper Colton Manorek made 13 saves and was named the Landmark Conference Defensive Athlete of the Week, but unfortunately, the Cardinals fell 11-6. Catholic traveled to take on Bridgewater in the next stop on their road trip. Healy scored 3 goals, and Carickhoff and senior Steven Dezelic scored 2 each, while Manorek made 8 saves. The Cardinals came away with a dominant 12-4 victory. 

Women’s Lacrosse went on the road to face off against #11 Washington & Lee. Senior Izzy Fiore led the Cards with 2 goals, while sophomores Henley Bredemann and Maddie McDevitt, junior Maggie Traynor, and senior Lindsay Sawyer each scored 1 goal apiece. Unfortunately, the Cardinals fell 18-6. Back at home, Catholic welcomed Shenandoah. Fiore scored 3 goals, while senior Tori Wilsey, junior Annie Galarza, and Traynor each scored 2. Sophomore goalkeeper Alexandra Ragano made 2 saves and recovered 4 ground balls, and the Cardinals came away with a 14-5 victory.  

Baseball hosted Coast Guard over spring break. Click here for in-depth coverage of this series. In the middle of the week, the Cardinals hosted Rhode Island College. Junior Lance Eilbacher hit an RBI single, and senior Chris Esquivel hit an RBI groundout to short in the first inning. Senior Michael Napolitano hit a 2-run homer to start the second, and senior Sammy Burman and junior Chase Falcon each added runs. In the third, Eilbacher hit a 3-run homer, Falcon hit an RBI single, and a stolen base and an error brought the Cards’ tally to 12. Napolitano and freshman Taig McErlane hit back-to-back home runs in the fourth, and Burman hit an RBI double. The Cardinals came away with a 15-6 victory. In the second game of the series, Catholic picked up where they left off. In the second inning, junior Gabriel Ruiz started the scoring with an RBI double. Junior Matt Perlin hit a 2-RBI single, Eilbacher hit an RBI single, and Burman hit a 2-RBI double to give the Cards 6 runs in one inning. Eilbacher hit a 2-RBI single in the sixth, followed by an RBI single from Burman. In the seventh, a wild pitch and an RBI off a McErlane groundout gave the Cardinals 2 more runs, and they flew away with a 5-11 win to take the series. 

Men’s Tennis spent their spring break competing in Hilton Head, SC. The Cardinals fell 6-0 to Berry College. In their next match, they faced off against Carroll University. Senior Diego Romo and James Earwood won 6-4 in the number one doubles spot, and sophomore Lorenzo Neri and freshman Ian Arenas won 6-2 in the number two spot. Neri won in the number one singles spot, freshman Flynn Hollinger won in the number four spot, and sophomore Stefano Gasasira won in the fifth spot to clinch the 4-3 victory for Catholic. 

Women’s Tennis also traveled to Hilton Head, SC, for their spring break trip. The Cardinals faced off against Randolph College in the first match of the trip. Catholic swept all three doubles games, with freshman Annie Nemoy and sophomore Shloka Tambat winning 6-3 in the one spot, juniors Mairead O’Hara and Ava Niggemeier winning 6-3 in the two spot, and freshman Ryan Adesso and junior Sam D’Addezio winning 6-2 in the three spot. Tambat won in the number one singles spot, and junior Meaghan Laniewski won 6-4 in the number two spot, giving the Cardinals a 4-2 victory. In their second match of the trip, Catholic faced off against Carroll University. Nemoy and junior Ava Kaloustian won in the number three doubles spot, but the Pioneers took the other two games to claim the doubles point. Laniewski was the lone Cardinal to win her singles matchup, and Catholic fell 6-1. 

Softball took a trip down to Florida to participate in the Spring Games. In their first game, the Cardinals took on Loras. Senior Katie Scolese hit a home run in the second inning, and sophomore Emma Fleming hit an RBI single in the fourth. The game went to extra innings, and down one in the bottom of the ninth, sophomore Geneva Webber hit a ball deep to right field, and an error by the right fielder allowed two runners to score, giving the Cardinals the 4-3 walkoff win. In their second game of the day, Catholic faced off against Carlow. Junior Katie McHugh hit a 2-run homer in the first inning to start the scoring, and the Cards never looked back. In the second, Webber hit an RBI double, and an error and a rundown situation gave Catholic two more runs. Scolese led off the third with a homer, Webber was walked to allow a run to score, and senior Sam Grillo hit a 2-RBI single and advanced to second on the throw. Fleming hit a sac fly to drive a runner home, senior Olivia Stinchcomb hit an RBI triple, and McHugh hit her second home run of the day, giving the Cardinals a 13-run lead after three innings. Sophomore Lisa Payne bunted for a single in the fifth and a throwing error allowed two runs to score, and Catholic came away with a 15-0 win. On the second day of the Spring Games, the Cardinals took on Montclair State. Fleming hit a sacrifice bunt in the first, but an error allowed a runner to score. Stinchcomb hit an RBI double, and senior Aubrynn Arcement hit an RBI single. The Cards held on for the rest of the game and took away a 3-0 victory. In the second game of the day, Catholic played Benedictine. In the first inning, Arcement was walked with the bases loaded and gave the Cardinals a 1-0 lead. The Eagle took a 7-1 lead in the top of the sixth, but sophomore Gianna Samperi hit an RBI single as Catholic looked to mount a comeback. In the seventh, McHugh hit an RBI double, Samperi earned a walk with the bases loaded, and Webber and Grillo each hit RBI singles to tie the game at seven apiece. The game went to extra innings, and the Eagles added a run at the top of the eight, and the Cardinals were unable to find an answer, falling 8-7. 

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