Mathewson McCarthy
Cardinals win 'Senior East' title

The Mathewson McCarthy "Senior East" Cardinals and Yankees entered the championship round with one goal in mind - end the season with a win. The Yankees needed two wins to claim the championship and the Cardinals needed one win.

Game One

Yankees 16, Cardinals 6

The Yankees showed in the first inning that they were up to the task. The Cardinals scored first as Jacob Brancato, after a single, scored off a double by Ben Cerny.

In the bottom half of the first, the Yankees exploded for seven runs. The Yankees hit through the order, as big hits were produced by Joey Weisansal, Andy Diakun, Chris Jasinski and Mike Russo.

The Cardinals showed life in the second inning as they scored three runs. Clark Zhang led off with a single and stole two bases. P.J. Klock hit a double to score Zhang. Matt DiStasio walked and later scored off a hit by Matt Schaefer.

The Yankees showed in the third inning why they were not to be denied as they scored four more runs as a result of hits by Diakun, Pat Schaefer, Mike Mangone (double), Jimmy Harb and Adam Kalnitz (walk, run scored).

The strong pitching of Diakun and Jasinski held the Cardinals to only two runs over the remaining four innings by scattering five Cardinal hits. In turn, the Yankee offense scored five more runs as a result of several key hits, including a double by Jed Breitsch and a single by Kyle Osika.

The Cardinals showed grit in a losing effort as Dom Baranyi had a great game catching, Don Frauenhofer came in relief to help a struggling Cardinal pitching staff, Jeremy Yavener and Mike Lang were strong and A.J. Baranyi had a beautiful bunt in the fourth to try and help the Cardinal cause. The Yankee win forced a final and deciding game for the playoff championship.

Game Two

In the final and deciding game of the championship, the Yankees continued where they left off in game one by scoring five runs in the first inning.

The Yankees were led by Jed Breitsch (hit by a pitch and scored), Adam Kalnitz (walked and scored), Joey Weisansal and Andy Diakun (reached on errors and scored), Pat Schaefer (double and scored) and Jimmy Harb (single).

The Cardinals were rattled and were looking for a spark to turn their fortunes around; however, they were held scoreless in the first inning.

The Cardinals showed life in the second inning defensively as Ben Cerny pitched a strong inning and Dom Baranyi and Don Frauenhofer teamed up to throw a runner out at second base. Matt Schaefer made a great catch at first to end the Yankees at bat in the second inning.

The Cardinals' half of the second was led by singles off the bats of Matt Schaefer and P.J. Klock. With two outs and two men on, the Cardinals were looking for some runs. Matt DiStasio led a two-out rally by hitting a double to right field, scoring the first two Cardinal runs. The Cardinals continued the rally as the speed of Clark Zhang and Frauenhofer got them on base and Dom Baranyi hit a double, which tied the game at 5-5.

The game remained tied after the third inning as a combination of strong defensive plays and the pitching by Cerny kept the Yankees off the scoreboard. The strong pitching by Diakun kept the Cardinals off the scoreboard in the third as well.

The Yankees looked to put themselves back in the lead during the fourth inning as Breitsch, Weisansal and Harb had singles.

However, the Cardinal defense showed what they were capable of as Zhang threw a perfect strike from center field to Dom Baranyi at home plate for the second out of the inning. Zhang did it again for the third out by making a perfect throw to Frauenhofer at second base and held the Yankees scoreless. The Cardinals felt the momentum had shifted.

In the Cardinal fourth inning, they manufactured four runs. A.J. Baranyi and DiStasio both walked and scored off hits by Zhang and Frauenhofer. Jacob Brancato kept the inning alive with a hit to right field, which helped score the final run of the inning and gave the Cardinals a 9-5 lead.

The Cardinal defense did their job to shut out the Yankees the remainder of the game, and Schaefer pitched two strong innings to close it out for the Cardinals. Mike Lang had an overall strong game to help the Cardinals win. The speed of Kyle Osika and the overall play of Mike Mangone, Chris Jasinski and Mike Russo helped the Yankees' cause.

The Yankees were coached by Jerry Kalnitz. The Cardinals were managed by Mike Cerny with coaching by Joe DiStasio, Ken Schaefer and Joe Brancato.