| Lowell 262, opponents 82 | | Print | |
| Written by Avi Baskin | |
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Charlie Cutler ’05. Danai Leininger ’04. Emil Deandreis ’04. Mike Ng ’03. All these Lowell baseball alumns were once the staple of a team that traditionally dominated its league. In 2004, led by record-setting junior catcher Cutler, the Cardinals marched to a 29-4 record, earning them a spot in the Top 40 best high school baseball teams by Baseball America. The next two years saw Lowell relinquish its kung-fu grip on the league by allowing Lincoln and Washington to win the AAA title 2005 and 2006, respectively. In 2007, the Cardinals, led by the class of ’08, ushered in a new era of Lowell baseball with their first city championship since 2004. Now they look to repeat in 2008. “Our grade has so much talent,” senior pitcher Max Schumm said. “Our freshmen year many players were cut from the JV team that would have made it easily it other years.” These seniors are now leading a team that has no interest in losing its hold on the AAA. In what was supposed to be their best competition games this year, the Cardinals faced the Lincoln Mustangs in a two-game series on April 16 and 17. In the first game, the Cardinals sent senior ace Evan Brydon to the mound. He wasn’t alone in his dominance. The Cardinals brought their bats, loading the bases in three out of the five innings, winning 12-1. The next day, the Cards were looking for a sweep of the series, with Schumm on the mound. Although Schumm was shaky in his first inning, he only gave up one run in four solid innings of work. Lowell’s most prolific inning came in the top of the third, when all the Cardinals would get their turn at the plate. With one out, Schumm started the rally with a single right back up the middle. Senior catcher Louie Buchbinder then belted a shot to right center field for a triple. Junior Narin Leininger, the brother of Danai, followed with a single through the hole to score Buchbinder. As senior outfielder Adam Berke stepped to the plate, senior shortstop Max Newman hollered “We ain’t done” from the batters box. Newman was right. After Berke drew a walk, Newman was hit on the first pitch. Senior third baseman Mike Lazarus then walked, bringing Brydon to the plate. Brydon hit a slow chopper to the second baseman, but beat it out to keep the inning alive. With the bases loaded, senior left fielder Nick Rosenheim hit a double to left field that scored all three runners, putting the Cardinals up 10-1. Schumm followed him with another double, and, to top off a nine-run Cardinal inning, Buchbinder hit his second booming triple, which rolled all the way to the 356-foot sign painted on the wall in right field. The Cardinals finished the game with a 16-1 victory and kept their undefeated streak of league play alive. They had already dismantled Balboa and Galileo earlier in the month by a combined score of 52-7. They have played so well in the AAA that they have 10-run ruled every team this year. The Cardinals will look to the seniors to repeat as league champions in May. The biggest upcoming AAA series for the Cardinals is a two-game set against the Washington Eagles at 3:30 p.m. on April 30 and May 1 at Big Rec in Golden Gate Park. |
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