Box Score

GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Catholic scored once in the ninth and once in the 11th to overcome a 2-1 deficit and defeat Gettysburg, 3-2, in non-conference action on Thursday at Kirchhoff Field. Sophomore second baseman Matthew Rosner scored on a bases-loaded wild pitch in the top of the 11th, giving the Cardinals their first lead of the game, and freshman Patrick Cunningham came on in the bottom of the inning for his first career save.
 
For the Bullets (15-21), junior right fielder Ben Carey (Colchester, CT/St. Bernard) and senior first baseman Jimmy McNamara (Webster, NY/Webster) each went 2-for-5 with a run scored. Senior right-hander Brian Spicer (Haddonfield, NJ/Haddonfield), coming off of a performance that earned him national player of the week honors from Collegiate Baseball magazine, pitched another eight strong innings and was in line for the win when he left with an injury before the top of the ninth. He allowed just one run and scattered six hits, struck out seven and walked four.
 
Cardinals' (17-21-1) junior center fielder Pedro Rivera and sophomore catcher Paul Yantosh each collected two hits. Senior lefty Michael Schmidt came on in relief for Catholic in the bottom of the eighth and pitched three no-hit innings to earn his first win of the season. He struck out two and walked one.
 
Spicer and Catholic sophomore Kevin Sweeney locked up in a pitchers' duel over the first seven innings. The Bullets' senior allowed just one run in the top of the third when Yantosh drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by freshman right fielder Robert Picardo. Rivera followed with an RBI double down the left field line, but that would be all the Cardinals would get until the ninth. The visitors successfully advanced runners with four sacrifice bunts in the game.
 
Gettysburg did not get its first base runner until the third when sophomore third baseman Dave Olson (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) reached on an error. It was the first of five Catholic errors in the game, but Olson was stranded after stealing second. In the fourth, the Bullets managed to break through against Sweeney, who allowed two runs, one earned, on five hits in 6 2/3 innings. Carey led off the inning with a double and junior designated hitter Joe Bonyai (Torrington, CT/Hotchkiss School) followed with an RBI single up the middle.
 
Gettysburg would take the lead in the bottom of the seventh to line Spicer up for the win. McNamara singled to left center, and Rivera made a nice play to cut the ball off before it could get through the gap. McNamara went to second on a sacrifice by Olson and advanced to third on a groundout by junior left fielder Mark Campo (Arendtsville, PA/Biglerville). Catholic committed a pair of two-out errors allowing the Bullets to take the lead, but the visitors battled back to tie it in the ninth.
 
Rivera drew a leadoff walk and went to third on a fantastic hit-and-run play by sophomore shortstop Joseph Maca two batters later. Rivera took off with the pitch, and Maca waited until the last possible second before poking it through the right side for a base hit. The pair then successfully pulled off the double steal to plate the tying run.
 
In the bottom of the inning, Campo reached on a throwing error to lead off. He was awarded second base when the ball went out of play. Sophomore second baseman Matt Stillitano (Ewing, NJ/The Hun School of Princeton) dropped a bunt that was fielded by Schmidt. His throw to third was wide, putting runners on first and third with no one out. After a groundout and a strikeout, sophomore center fielder Sean McGee (Mamaroneck, NY/Mamaroneck) was hit by a pitch to load the bases, but that is how Schmidt would leave them, forcing extra innings.
 
In the top of the 10th, the Cardinals got a runner to third, but Pernice caught a batter looking to end the inning. After Gettysburg went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning, Rivera walked to lead off the 11th, but was erased when Pernice fielded a bunt and went to second with it. Maca drew a walk, and senior first baseman Joseph Benedetti was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Rosner eventually scored the winning run on a wild pitch, and Cunningham retired the side in order in the home half to save the win.
 
The Bullets will return to action on Saturday when they travel Chestertown, Md., to close out the Centennial Conference schedule with a 12:30 p.m. doubleheader at Washington.
 

-30-