O’Connor’s pitching, 10-hit attack carries Cardinals to win
Calvert Hall senior pitcher Dan O’Connor needed 27 pitches to escape the first inning against visiting Archbishop Curley and then survived a bases-loaded jam in the second Wednesday.
Fortunately, that was the worst of it for the No. 15 Cardinals, who supported O’Connor with a 10-hit attack and flawless defense in an 8-0 shutout over the No. 2 Friars in Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference play.
O’Connor, relying on his fastball with an occasional slider, allowed seven hits while striking out five. Third baseman Ethan Koster (2-for-3, three RBIs, one run) and center fielder Joe Murphy (3-for-4, two RBIs, two runs) provided the big hits for the Cardinals, who improved to 8-5 overall and 4-3 in the MIAA.
The Friars, coming off a 3-2 win against Loyola Blakefield on Monday, fall to 12-3 and 6-2 in the league.
“Really nice effort from Dan throwing a shutout — it doesn’t get any better than that. Especially against them, they have a great team this year, so we came ready,” Calvert Hall manager Lou Eckerl said.
The Friars had the bases loaded with one
out in the top of the second when Derrick Booker hit a sharp grounder back to O’Connor, who threw to home and catcher Parker Landwehr went to first for the inning-ending double play.
The Cardinals answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning behind singles from Mason Unfried and Koster, followed by a Friars error and run-scoring single from Dom Freeberger.
The lead was 3-0 when O’Connor struck out the side in the fourth inning. The Cardinals put the game away with Koster’s three-run double in the fifth and Murphy’s two-run double in the sixth.
O’Connor’s early-game poise on the mound set the tone. He leaned on his fastball to get the big outs.
“The first innings for me was just battling, keeping composed and remembering everything I have in the back of my head and I was able to work out of those innings,” he said.
When asked if this win can help completely turn around the team’s season, he was quick to respond: “Definitely.”
The Friars, who got two hits and two fine defensive plays from third baseman Tyler Locklear, have been able to consistently get big hits most of the season, but it wasn’t the case Wednesday. They’ll look to rebound Friday with a home game against St. Mary’s.
“We hit the ball really hard early, but couldn’t get the big hit to cash,” manager Brooks Norris said. “It’s baseball. We’re a senior-heavy team and guys just didn’t make plays today. We’re not going to panic. We’re still in real good shape and we’ll regroup and be ready for Friday.”