Cardinals win 'AAA' crown

The Cardinals defeated the Royals, 17-8, to win the Mathewson McCarthy "AAA" championship. Members of the team, pictured from left, are: bottom row - Daniel Guercio, John Herman, Sam Canell, Joe Davoli, Nathan Berke; second row - Shawn Barbalato, Andy Meyer, Nick Valenti, Matthew Foster, Patrick Irving, Michael Steffan, Dylan Walker; third row - coach Dan Guercio, manager Jim Steffan and coach Pat Irving.

The Cardinals defeated the Royals, 17-8, last Sunday at Wehrle to win the Mathewson McCarthy "AAA" championship.

After losing the first game of the playoffs, the Cardinals reeled off five straight wins to gain the title.

In the championship game, Matthew Foster led the offensive attack with four hits and knocked in four runs. Shawn Barbalato contributed with three hits and three RBIs while Michael Steffan homered and doubled. Steffan, Foster and Nick Valenti each scored three runs.

The Cardinals received stellar defense from Nathan Berke, who made two diving catches to stop Royals rallies.

The Cardinals received strong pitching by Patrick Irving, Berke and Steffan. Other contributors included Dylan Walker, John Herman, Joe Davoli, Daniel Guercio and Andy Meyer.

The Royals were led offensively by Mike Poturlaski and Spencer Crist, who each had two hits. Matt Cohen reached base three times and scored two runs.

Defensively, the Royals were led by Miranda Strapason, who made a tremendous catch in center field on a fly ball. The Royals received strong pitching from Cam Osalkowski, Michael Braun and Poturalski. They also received strong play from Josh Paylan, Nick Giambrone, Matthew Eichorn, Zach Hurrell and Noah Rosenthal.