Eaglets Even the Series with Cubs

On the morning of Saturday May 1st, 2010, it looked as if there would be no game because of a nasty thunderstorm. 

As the day went on, the clouds passed and the St. Mary's Eaglets vs. U of D Jesuit Cubs double-header was played in the sunlight and clear skys.

The first game of the double-header was no contest for the Eaglets as they took over the game right from the beginning. 

The Eaglets started with a bang in the first inning when Korey Hall, who went 2 for 4 in the game, smashed a lead-off homerun off the Cubs pitcher. 

Blaise Salter and Matt Johnson each smashed a double into the gaps in the outfield, which brought in two more runs for the Eaglets in the 1st inning. 

Once the Cubs fell behind in the first inning they could not catch the Eaglets as Theo Piccirilli shut down the Cubs offense with 8 strikeouts, 1 walk and 2 runs.  6 of the strikeouts caught the Cubs batters looking as Piccirilli pitched a complete game and the Eaglets won the first game 9-2.   

The second game of the double-header was not so kind to the Eaglets as they got off to a very slow start. 

The Cubs took advantage of the Eaglets by jumpng out to a 5 run lead in the first 3 innings. 

St. Mary's pitching and hitting struggled in the beginning of the game, but finally found its groove in the middle of the game as the Eaglets battled back. 

Devan Ahart and Blaise Salter were the ones who lead the way for the Eaglest offense.  They went a combined 5 for 7 with 2 singles, 1 double, 1 homerun, and 1 triple.

Jon Roberts started for the Eaglets, but did not last long.  Roberts struck out 5 batters, gave up 1 walk and 5 runs in 3 innings. 

Matt Johnson came in for middle relief, but gave up a few runs and only lasted 1inning for the Eaglets.  In his 1 inning of relief Johnson struck out 1, walked 1 and gave up 3 runs.

Malik Jackson came in for the Eaglets after Johnson and pitched a strong inning of middle relief for the Eaglets.  He struck out 1 and gave up no runs and walks.  Jackson was done after 1 inning and James Edwards was brought in to pitch the last 2 innings.

Usually a starter for the Eaglets, Edwards came in for relief for St. Mary's. 

Edwards shut down the Cubs in his 2 innings of relief.  He recorded 3 strikeouts, one coming from a nasty curveball that started at the right-handed hitter and broke back into the strike zone.  The hitter reacted to the pitch as if he was going to be hit by turning his back away from the nasty pitch. 

Edwards received the win and the save as the Eaglets came back to beat the Cubs 9-8 in the second game of the double-header. 

The Eaglets improved their record in the Catholic League to 8-6, while their overall record improved to 11-6.