Santa rallies Cardinals past River Bandits

Christmas cheer was abundant for the Cardinals at their Christmas in July game against the Woodstock River Bandits Friday night. The Cardinals celebrated all things Christmas and Santa himself came out to cheer the Cardinals on to a decisive 9-2 win. Santa, with help from his elf, Bernard, threw out the first pitch to begin the evening. While the young, and young at heart, enjoyed chatting with Santa, the Cardinals put on a show on the field.

After the River Bandits got on the board early with a homerun in the top of the first inning, the Cardinals showed off their offensive strength, when all nine players batted in the bottom of the first. The Cardinals ended the inning after scoring five runs. Cardinals’ starting pitcher Peter Schuldt kept the River Bandits’ offense quiet allowing only four hits in his five innings of work. The Cardinals batters continued to find hits and scored two more runs before the fourth inning.

The fourth inning was especially exciting. The River Bandits were trailing 7-2 when they managed to get to runners on base with two outs. River Bandits’ center fielder, Thomas Sanchez mashed a ball to left field that looked like a three-run homerun. Instead, Cardinals’ left fielder, Jose Hernandez leapt at the wall and reigned in the ball for the third out of the inning, robbing the Bandits of three runs. In the home half of the inning, Hernandez came to bat with two outs and teammate Carson Bell on first base. Hernandez launched the ball deep into the night, over the same left field wall, for a two-run homerun. It would be the last score of the game, as the Cardinals relievers Sean Miller and Andrew Hoguet struck out four, while sharp Cardinals defense kept the River Bandits to only one hit through the remainder of the game.

The win was a complete team effort. The cardinals had ten hits during the game. Two Cardinals’ players had multiple hits in the game. First baseman Matt Cooper had two hits in five at bats, and third baseman Tre Dabney had two hits in three at bats, including a first inning triple that scored two runs.

“Peter Schuldt really stepped up for us tonight. We needed a good start on the mound. Woodstock has a tough lineup and he kept things stable. Miller and Hoguet throwing up four zeros in relief was nice to see too,” said Coach Tony Hurla. “The bats came out hot early and we took advantage of their mistakes. It was a solid performance all the way around tonight.”

With 11 games left in regular season play, the Cardinals go for three wins in a row tonight at Bing Crosby Stadium against the New Market Rebels. First pitch is at 7:00 pm.