Mathewson McCarthy 'Majors West' Cardinals post several victories

The Mathewson McCarthy "Majors West" Cardinals topped the Brewers, 12-5, in a rematch due to the big plays of Dan Carosi and Nick Courtney. Carosi put the Cardinals in the lead for good when he led off the bottom of the third inning with a big blast down the left field line to the fence for a home run.

The Cardinals scored five more times on hits by Austin Collins, Nolan Burch, Ricky Procknal, and a three-run triple by Courtney.

The Brewers were led by the strong pitching of Christian Wheatley and the three-hit production of Joe Bennett.

Procknal and Michael Spence pitched shutout innings for the Cardinals. Courtney finished the game on the mound, shutting the Brewers down with defensive help from Clay Ruppert and Amar Bhala.

Cardinals 19, Marlins 5

The Cardinals, led by the standout play of Matt Steffan, beat the Marlins on Monday, May 21.

Steffan singled, doubled, hit a home run, scored three times and knocked in five RBIs. Defensively, he turned a double play in the third while playing shortstop, catching Alex Cerra's pop-up and throwing the ball to Michael Spence at first for the second out.

There were other notable Cardinal at-bats. Austin Collins had three RBIs on a triple in the third and another triple in the fourth. Ricky Procknal hit the Cardinals' first bunt single of the season, stole four bases, scored two runs, and had an RBI.

Amar Bhala made his first mound appearance in the fourth, facing five Marlin batters, two of whom he struck out without giving up a walk. Offensively, Bhala hit a single, scored a run and batted in another.

Max Brightenfield also had a strong pitching debut for the Cardinals, while Clay Ruppert finished a strong game with a double to center field.

Dave Krasinski closed the game for the Cardinal pitching staff in the bottom of the fifth, striking out three Marlins in a row after allowing only one walk.

In the fourth, the Marlins' Adam Liscavage turned a double play from second base. He fielded a would-be single pounded out by Krasinski, tagged Nick Courtney on his way from first, and hurled the ball to Rotella at first in time to beat Krasinski to the bag.

In the bottom half of the inning, Liscavage smacked a solo home run for the Marlins' final run of the day.

Brett Baker pitched two strong innings to finish the game on the mound for the Marlins.

Cardinals 12, Marlins 8

The first meeting of the season between the Cardinals and the Marlins was a fast-paced game with the bats coming alive in the third inning.

The Marlins struck early. Hits by Austin Baker, Nick Darling, and Brett Baker loaded the bases. Connor Schutte cleared them all with a blast over the right fielder's head.

The Cardinals came back strong in the bottom of the inning, batting around the order. Joshua Fitt started the hitting with a base hit and later scored. Teammates following him across the plate included Dan Carosi, Clay Ruppert, Matt Steffan, Max Brightenfield, and Amar Bhala.

The Cardinals later increased their lead thanks to the multi-hit, two-run production of Nolan Burch and Nick Courtney.

To seal the Cardinals' victory, Rick Procknal struck out three batters over two scoreless innings.

Cardinals 6, Mets 3

This fast-paced and well-played Cardinal-Met game flew by in less than 70 minutes.

Met pitchers Tommy Heyden, Nick Molnar, and Mike Heyden held the Cardinal batters scoreless in four out of six innings. Ryan Ostrowski led the way for the Mets at the plate with two runs on two base hits.

Strong Cardinal pitching by Mike Spence, Matt Steffan, and Nick Courtney was highlighted by the five strikeout performance of Nolan Burch. Defensive standouts included Kellen Pembleton, Austin Collins, and Clay Ruppert. At the plate, star performers included two hit games by Courtney and Rick Procknal, along with David Krasinski, who drove in two runs with a double.