WINCHESTER, Va. – Second-seeded Catholic University of America earned the 2022 Winchester Regional Championship Sunday with a 13-10 if-necessary game victory over the host Shenandoah University Hornets.
 
Playing as the visitors, Shenandoah (37-12-1) put CUA (32-13) in an early hole by scoring six runs in the top of the first inning.
 
IN DEPTH
Catholic answered with two in the bottom of the first, and after SU went to its bullpen to start the fourth, roared back to the game with five runs in the fourth, one in the fifth, and five more in the sixth.
 
Catholic reliever Cody Bosak, who came on with two outs in the first, gave the Cardinals offense the opportunity to get back in the game by shutting down the SU hitters.
 
After scoring the six runs on five hits and sending 11 men to the plate in the first, Shenandoah saw its next eight hitters retired in order and was held without a hit until Pearce Bucher singled to left to start the fifth.
 
Bosak (3-2) got the win and a spot on the All-Tournament team with 6 1/3 innings of relief work. He allowed three runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out two.
 
Trailing 13-9 entering the ninth, SU put its first two hitters on with back-to-back singles before reliever Tucker Alch, who threw a complete game on Friday, retired three of the next four hitters on a fly out, a strikeout and a groundout.
 
Alch also claimed a spot on the All-Tournament team.
 
In that fourth, Catholic greeted reliever Reilly Owen with three straight singles before seeing the fourth hitter of the frame hit by a pitch.
 
Shenandoah skipper Kevin Anderson turned to Matt Barnes, and Barnes gave up a sacrifice fly followed by a Dante Pozzi three-run home run to put CUA up, 7-6.
 
After adding one in the fifth, Catholic extended its lead with five runs on six hits in the sixth. Ben Nardi, like Pozzi an All-Tournament team member, had the big blow in the inning with a three-run home run.
 
SU crawled back into it with one in the seventh and two in the eighth, and had the game-tying run come to the plate with one out in the ninth, but could not bring the game back to even.
 
Frankie Ritter led the Hornets with four hits with Kooper Anderson adding three and Gavin Horning, Pearce Bucher, and Haden Madagan two each.
 
Anderson, Horning, Bucher all grabbed spots on the All-Tournament team, as did game one starting pitcher Jacob Faivre and catcher Matt Moon.
 
Bucher extended his hitting streak to 36 games.
 
Catholic's Matt Tesoriero and Lucas Malave joined teammates Pozzi, Nardi, Alch, and Bosak on the All-Tournament team. Pozzi was the Most Outstanding Player.
 
Pozzi had four hits, Tesoriero and Malave three each, and both Zach Burton and Tighe Watson two each for the victors. Pozzi and Nardi drove in three runs each.
 
Ryan Decoursey, from St. Joseph's of Long Island, completed the All-Tournament team.
 
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
 
C: Matt Moon, Shenandoah
1B: Pearce Bucher, Shenandoah
2B: Dante Pozzi, Catholic
3B: Matt Tesoriero, Catholic
SS: Ryan Decoursey, St. Joseph's
OF: Kooper Anderson, Shenandoah
OF: Lucas Malave, Catholic
OF: Ben Nardi, Catholic
DH: Gavin Horning, Shenandoah
P: Jacob Faivre, Shenandoah
P: Tucker Alch, Catholic
P: Cody Bosak, Catholic
 
Most Outstanding Player: Dante Pozzi, Catholic
 
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