Cardinals Win Region XX Semifinals Rematch Over Rival Essex

On March 22nd the CCBC Catonsville Cardinals baseball team faced off against rivals CCBC Essex Knights in a doubleheader where the Cardinals would get a big two-win sweep.

The Cardinals would take an early one-run lead in game one; however, the Knights got a big five-run lead in the fifth and would also get three more runs in the sixth. The Cardinals' offense heated up late in the sixth inning as well scoring a big six runs. A big hit from Tony D'Angeli (Atholton High School), would help the Cardinals create the comeback against Essex. With bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth, Alex Valdez (Blair High School) would hit his third home run of the season to help the Cardinals get within one run of the Knights. In the top half of the seventh, pitcher Max Cutts (Olympia High School) would shut down the inning to help his team be down by one. Angelo Ramirez (North Atlanta High School) would start the bottom of inning seven off right with a single and then a stolen base of his own. The Cardinals would get a big hit from Jalen Williams (Western Tech High School) which helped his team to tie it up at eight late in the game. With a wild pitch from the Knights pitcher, Jalen Williams would end up scoring from second base to help walk off the Knights.

For the Cardinals offense, Alex Valdez led the game with four RBIs; Jalen Williams went 3-4 with three RBIs; Tony D'Angeli went 1-2 with an RBI and a run scored. Max Cutts would earn his first win of the season.