It doesn’t happen often, but …

Cardinals first baseman Levi Leisenring. Photo by Ken Pullen.

A no hitter is rare in baseball, and the Front Royal Cardinals were able to experience that infrequent event last night. Unfortunately, it was for the other team. The Cardinals lost a defensive showdown to the Strasburg Express 5-0.

It was a beautiful night for baseball, and the Cardinals’ largest crowd of the season came out to cheer the hometown team. The excitement was palpable when both teams took the field. The Express took an early lead in the second inning, when Nicholas Toney took a 3-2 pitch over the left field net for a home run. There would not be another run scored until the eighth inning. Strasburg pitching was dominant, securing 18 strikeouts, and the Cardinals were only able to put the ball in play seven times over the course of the game. The Cardinals only base runners came when Easton Waterman was walked, and Arrison Perez was hit by a pitch. The Cardinals defense was exceptional through most of the game, securing 11 outs and only committing three errors. Third base man Patrick Baggett led the defense, making five assists and running down two Express baserunners for the tag. The Cardinals pitching staff, comprised of Kyle Turner, Sean Miller and Henri Pratt, executed seven strikeouts and only walked five batters throughout the game. The Express managed to tack on four more runs in the last two frames, including an extremely close call at the plate that didn’t go the Cardinals way. When the dust settled, the Express shut out the Cardinals 5-0.

Although the Cardinals couldn’t get their bats going in this game, Coach Tony Hurla believes that their pitching and hitting will come together. He said, “We pitched a lot better tonight, but didn’t have the offense to go with it. We’re a little inconsistent in both areas, but if we can start to put both together, then I think things could turn around for us.”

The Cardinals will try for a win tonight at Purcellville, against the Cannons. Their next home game is Sunday on June 23rd at 7:00 pm against the Waynesboro Generals. Dominion Health & Fitness is sponsoring the game.