Cardinals' comeback sinks Bremen

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When Bremen reflects on Thursday’s South Suburban game against Eisenhower, it will look to a wasted opportunity in the second inning that could have left the Cardinals dead and buried.

Already ahead 2-0, the Braves were looking for more and loaded the bases with only one out against Cardinals starter Rob Easton. And with No. 2 hitter Mick Goulding at the plate, the prospects for a productive inning looked promising.

However, Easton got Goulding to hit into a tailor-made 4-6-3 inning-ending double play to thwart the rally.

From there, a rejuvenated Cardinals squad would come back to claim a thrilling 6-5 win over the Braves in Blue Island.

“That was a big play,” said Eisenhower coach Ken McNulty, whose Cards improved to 6-9, 3-2. “That got us out of the inning and we were still down just 2-0.”

Bremen coach Mike Cline lamented the Braves’ wasted chance.

“We were up 2-0, and we get a hit right there and we could really put them away,” he said. “We hit into the double play and wasted our chance.”

It was a game of missed opportunities for Bremen, which stranded nine runners on the day.

Still, the Braves held a 5-4 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth. But three walks by pitcher Andy Fitzpatrick, including two straight with the bases loaded, and a pair of errors allowed the Cardinals to score the two runs necessary to grab a 6-5 lead.

Eisenhower pitcher Sergio Diaz-DeSandy, who came in relief of Easton in the fifth, retired the Braves in the seventh to garner the win.

Diaz-DeSandy starred with the bat as well, going 2-for-2 with four RBI. J.J. Alvarado added a 3-for-4 effort, including a pair of doubles, while Pat Blake (2 RBI), Brett Bennick and Ramon Hernandez contributed singles for Eisenhower.

Diaz-DeSandy allowed one run on three hits and struck out three over three innings.

“Sergio did a nice job pitching and hitting today,” McNulty said. “He was throwing strikes and keeping the ball down.” Throwing strikes was a major problem for Bremen, which served up five free passes, including those critical two that forced in the tying and winning runs in the seventh.

“It’s the same old story,” said Cline, whose Braves fell to 7-6, 2-2. “We’re right there. You can’t give a scrappy team like Eisenhower opportunities.

They scored two runs without a hit. We walk three guys and make two errors in one inning. They made the plays and we didn’t. But we’ll bounce back.”

The Braves, who registered nine hits on the day, were led by Bob Fitzpatrick (1-for-2, two walks), Rocco Both (2-for-4, two RBI), Andy Fitzpatrick (2-for-4, RBI) and Sean Howe (1-for-2, two walks).

Bremen boasts plenty of speed, and flaunted it in the early going, swiping a pair of bases that led to two first-inning runs. But Eisenhower catcher Brian Dompling gunned down Howe in the second inning and the Braves never attempted another steal the rest of the game.

“Brian is just a sophomore and he’s doing a nice job,” McNulty said. “We’re a young team. We had four seniors starting today, but everybody contributed.”