Cardinals defeat Greyhounds 15-5

On a chilly but sunny day at Carlo Crispino field on Calvert Hall High School's campus, the Cardinals defeated the Gilman Greyhounds 15-5 in five innings.

Mike Dumbar got the start on the mound for Gilman, and he struggled from the beginning. Alex Pastorius led off the bottom of the first for the Cardinals with a double and eventually scored on a walk by Dumbar. The Cardinals added another run in the first on a passed ball to take a 2-0 lead. 

Dumbar’s struggles continued in the second, with the biggest blow coming on a three-run home run by Cardinals right fielder Matt Bosse. Calvert Hall scored five in the second, chasing Dumbar from the game. Dumbar gave up seven runs, five hits and five walks, while striking out two Cardinals in 1.1 innings of work. 

After going down 7-0, the Greyhounds got on the board in the top of the third. Ryan Ripken, son of Cal Ripken, lined a RBI double into right, followed by a two-run double by John Durham. The Cardinals answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the third off reliever Charles Cross, fueled by the third double in three innings from Pastorius, and the second homer in as many innings from Cardinals standout Bosse. The Cardinals led 9-3 after three long innings. 

After a scoreless fourth inning for both teams, the Greyhounds put two more runs on the board in the fifth, one of which came on a solo home run from Matt Tilley. However, the Cardinals answered with six runs in the bottom of the fifth; the big blast was Bosse's third home run of the evening. The six spot in the bottom of the fifth gave the Cardinals a 1o-run rule win. Cardinals head coach Louis Eckerl was pleased with the effort from this team.

"I thought our guys came out ready to play," Eckerl said. "We really hit the ball well. Our pitching did a good job, we held them down when we needed to, and we played good, solid baseball today." 

Eckerl also marveled at the career day from Bosse, who is already committed to play for the Maryland Terrapins.

“He’s explosive,” Eckerl said. “He can hit the ball out anytime. He’s a great player for us, and he’s had a great year so far. We just hope it continues.”

Bosse also was surprised he was able to hit three home runs to three different parts of the field.

“I don’t think I’ve ever hit three balls to each field in my life, and hitting three home runs to each field is just ridiculous," Bosse said. "I really don’t believe it just happened."

With the loss, the Greyhounds fall to 9-3 as they prepare to take on  Mount St. Joseph on Wednesday. The Cardinals improve to 8-4 as they prepare for a game Wednesday against Archbishop Curley.

Eckerl believes a win over the defending champions is a confidence builder for his squad.

“It definitely gives our guys the confidence that we can play with anybody," Eckerl said.