BY: MONICA VEGA (mvega@smcm.edu)

St. Mary's City, Md. – The St. Mary's College of Maryland baseball team (4-11) fought a close battle on Sunday afternoon, dropping the game by one run to non-conference opponent, The Catholic University of America Cardinals (7-5), as Catholic came away with the 8-7 win.

The Seahawks would tally seven runs on nine hits with five RBI while making three errors. Senior DH Hayden Ferington (Centreville, Va./Westfield) would pace the Seahawks with two runs and three hits. First-year outfielder Holden Marshall (Baltimore, Md./Friends School) would also have a strong contribution with three RBI.

The Seahawks would take an early lead of one run after a three-run scoring rally by the Cardinals in the top of the first inning. The Seahawks would get on the board in their half of the first inning as junior 2B Zach Rowe (Davidsonville, Md./Calvert Hall) took advantage of a wild pitch. Junior 3B Colin Thatcher (Germantown, Md./Seneca Valley) would walk with bases loaded, scoring senior shortstop Hunter Mohler (La Plata, Md./Bishop McNamara). Quickly after, Marshall would single to right field with bases loaded recording two RBI on the play with senior captain Connor Goodie (Rising Sun, Md./Rising Sun) and Ferington striding home. The Seahawks claimed a 4-3 lead after one inning of play.

The following next innings would be scoreless for the both the Cardinals and the Seahawks. The Cardinals would respond in the fourth inning when senior 1B Eric Scarmardella (Holmdel, N.J./Holmdel) singled and advanced to third on the throw, bringing in senior outfielder John Palladino (Rockville Centre, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) and first-year shortstop Ryan Tracy (Rumford, R.I./LaSalle Academy) for a 5-4 Cardinal lead.

St. Mary's would fiercely fight when Goodie took advantage of an error by the Cardinal catcher, advancing to second. Ferington and Mohler also capitalized on the error to find home plate. The Cardinals would reply with a run at the top of the sixth, evening up the score at 7-7.

Both teams battled defensively going scoreless for the seventh and eighth innings. Catholic would have the final run of the game when Tracy singled to centerfield, advancing sophomore infielder Matt Hsiung (Potomac, Md./Wootton) for the game-winning run.

The Seahawks will return to the field in Capital Athletic Conference action as they travel to take on York College of Pennsylvania at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 16.

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