The varsity baseball team won 12–0 against the Galileo Lions on April 19, extending its winning streak to six games.
At the top of the first inning, senior pitcher Joe Solomon pitched fastballs, sliders and curveballs, quickly ending the Lions’ first inning without any runs. Seniors infielder Adam Gardi and outfielder Motana Phoupraseut made two runs and ended the first inning 2–0.
Gardi hit a double in the second inning, sending senior outfielder EJ Whorton from first base to third. Whorton then made it to home on a passed ball. Then Gardi followed with a run on Phoupraseut’s single. Phoupraseut stole third and home with junior infielder Alex Bradshaw at bat. Bradshaw hit a single and scored on a single by junior outfielder Michael Lee. Cardinals were up 6–0.
In the top of the third inning, the Cardinals maintained their strong defense with Solomon’s pitches and the infielders’ accurate throws and the shortstops’ double plays.
During the bottom of the third, Whorton walked to first and was able to steal second, and third base, then made it to home off a passed ball. Phoupraseut and Whorton also scored. Bradshaw scored the final run of the inning, bringing them to a 9–0 lead.
In the fourth inning, Humphrey hit a single, then stole second. Then, senior outfielder Jacob Tang’s single sent Humphrey from second to home. Tang soon followed Humphrey with consecutive steals to second and third then to home off a passed ball. Trey Chase walked to first base, then made the last run of the inning off Gardi’s single, ending the fourth inning 12–0.
In the first half of the fifth inning, the Lions were not able to make a single run, and the game ended due to the Mercy rule. The Mercy rule ends the game if the away team is ahead of the home team by ten runs after four innings, or three and a half innings if the home team is ahead. The Cardinals won the game 12–0.
“Some days, our pitching has been off and batting has been subpar, but today we pitched, batted well and really came together today.”
Head coach Daryl Semen credits Wednesday’s win to Solomon’s precise pitching, which the Lions were unable to receive. “Some days, our pitching has been off and batting has been subpar, but today we pitched, batted well and really came together today,” Solomon said. According to Gardi, the game had demonstrated the amount of practice the team put in to perfect their line drives as all defensive players displayed perfect swings throughout the plays.
Currently, the Cardinals have a 11–2 record, locking them in second place and into the semifinals after taking down the number-one-seeded Washington Eagles 2–1 on April 26. The Cardinals will take on the Eagles again today at 3:30 p.m. at the Big Rec Field for a chance to take the top seed.
