Junior Cody Hagenston yielded only a pair of hits, but the Cardinals dropped a nailbiter, 1-0 to Good Counsel on Saturday.
by Matt Krause.
Baseball is a unique sport. Every once in a while, it gives you a game where neither team builds much of an advantage, and a tiny break can determine the outcome. This exact situation played out on a warm early May Saturday at Bottegal Field in Olney, Maryland, where the Cardinals visited the Good Counsel Falcons in a WCAC Quarterfinal.
While the final score was 1-0 in favor of the Falcons, the game was as close as possible for a high school game. The sixth-seeded Cardinals came into the game with excitement, ready to prove they belonged. The lone problem: Kevin Doherty was pitching for the Falcons. Doherty, the UVA-bound southpaw, is known around the league for his low-90s fastball and dominant command.
The top of the first lived up the hype, with the Cardinals going down 1-2-3 on two strikeouts. For the bottom of the frame, Cody Hagenston trotted to the mound. On this afternoon, it was difficult to see which pitcher as the hyped-up “mega-commit”. Hagenston started with a walk, but quickly enduced a foul bunt with two strikes, a groundout, and a popout to Jake Guttman at first to put a goose egg up in the first.
Ireton got a pair of baserunners in the second, both off of errors. That set up a two-men-in-scoring position, two out scenario, but Doherty showed poise and struck out Kyle Delaney. The bottom of the second would provide the game’s only scoring. Casey Bulik led off with a single, and Kevin Ross bounced a ball to shortstop, only to have the ball booted by Delaney for an error. After a hit batter, Hagenston was in a deep jam.
Proving that he belonged on the big stage, Hagenston struck out Ryan Marshall looking. Anthony Vaglica, the next hitter, flew out to center field, but it was
deep enough to score the run. With two down and an unearned run home, the game’s most exciting play took place.
Doherty blasted a ball to left center. When the Falcon faithful saw left fielder Alex Hurst slow down, they assumed the ball was over the fence. Not a chance. Andrew Selby sped over and made the running grab, earning an unintentional standing ovation from the Good Counsel crowd. Once the confusion was over, the true pitchers’ duel began.
Ireton had a 1-2-3 inning in the third, and the Falcons were also shut down in the frame. The Cardinals earned their first hit in the fourth when Jake Guttman bunted for a hit, sliding headfirst into the bag. Pat O’Connell followed the bunt up with a hit of his own, but the Cardinals left both “ducks on the pond”.
The back half of the game was when Hagenston shone. He retired ten straight Falcons from the third through the end of his work in the sixth. While Hagenston was dominant, Doherty was still cruising. Ireton mustered a hit in the fifth, but the effort was fruitless. In the final chance to tie in the 7th, Pat O’Connell reached on an error and was replaced on the basepath by Nick Tangora. Alex Hurst’s sac bunt moved Tangora to scoring position, and he moved up to third on Ben Judd’s groundout. With two outs, Jack Leyden, a sophomore callup, had a chance, but grounded out to third leaving Tangora 90 feet away and ending the Cardinals’ dream of a WCAC championship.
In the end, Hagenston allowed only two hits while Doherty gave up three, but the Cardinals were left with the taste of a 1-0 defeat. Bishop Ireton now awaits the final polls in the state division I baseball category. While the Cardinals appear poised for a VISAA bid, the season continuation hangs on that invitation.
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