The JV baseball team has been clawing the league since day one, and not even a loss against Washington on April 16 could destroy its championship dreams.
The Cardinals entered the game with a 6-1 record, with the Eagles at 5-2. A win would have clinched first place and a match-up against fourth-place Lincoln, in the AAA playoffs. Lowell’s loss means that a coin-toss decided the Cardinals opponent — Balboa — in their first stab at the championship. 

    Although the team’s pitching staff is usually superb, it faltered in the game. With too many walks and hits allowed, Lowell let Washington score seven runs in the first three innings.

    Even though the Cardinals lost heavily, they lost as a team. “All 18 players of the team got to play,” coach Mike Torisse said. “They all did their best, and they are all winners in my eyes.”
The April 14 game against Lincoln was their season’s only other loss, 4-2.
Pitching was no problem at this game. Sophomore shortstop and co-captain Chris Chen managed eight strikeouts in three innings, and freshman Sam Mallonee struck out six in four innings.

    Despite the great pitching, crucial mistakes on defense allowed the Mustangs to take control of the game.  

    In the second inning, with Mustang runners on first and third and the score tied 1-1, Lincoln tried to steal second. Chen picked off a runner at first, but sophomore second baseman Anthony Lam wasn’t able to tag out the runner in a rundown situation. With the score now 2-1, the runner made it to second and eventually scored, ending the second inning 3-1.

    Both teams managed to score one more run, but the Cardinals couldn’t pull through and took the loss. “We had runners at second and third in the seventh inning and we were trailing by 4-2, but we struck out,” coach Mike Torisse said.

    Part of the problem was “some major communication errors,” Chen said.

    Prior to the Lincoln game, the Cardinals destroyed the competition, two of their games ending with the 10-run mercy rule.

    On April 9, the Cardinals dominated the Balboa Buccaneers, 13-3. Their hitting was unrivaled. Sophomore first baseman and co-captain Ryan Ho, freshman catcher Charley August and Chen all had three hits. Mallonee and sophomore centerfield Robbie Pollard racked in two hits while Lam added a couple of hits and two RBIs.  

    The Cardinals faced off with the Galileo Lions on April 7 and demolished them, 10-3. In the third inning, August hit a three-run homer and solidified the win.

    “I was focused and I really wanted to lift the team spirit up,” August said. “Plus, I really wanted us to scrape Galileo.”

    On March 19, the Cardinals embarrassed the Eagles 15-0, scraping together 16 hits and giving up only two. To top off the domination, the top four players in the line-up — Ho, Chen, August and Mallonee — combined for nine total runs.

    After this outstanding season, the Cardinals are ready to take on the city and fight. “I expect blood, sweat, tears and a championship,” August said. “Nothing less.”

    The team starts on their way today at 3:30 p.m. at Big Rec for the AAA playoffs.