The Calvert Hall baseball team?s streak of 22 consecutive wins to open the season has been well-documented. Loyola is hoping to create some news of its own by ending that streak.
The Dons came close on April 17, taking the Cardinals to the brink with nobody out and the bases loaded in the top of the seventh. But top-ranked Calvert Hall shut the door ? and the book on any streak-snapping talk, at leastfor a time.
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“With them being a traditional rival, that?s a game you?d love to go out and get,” Loyola coach Mike DelGaudio said.
At 13-6 overall, with a 9-4 mark in conference play, Loyola is the closest team to Calvert Hall in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference standings. But staying in second place has been a dogfight in itself.
“In general, the MIAA A Conference is tough because there are a lot of well-coached teams, and you can run into a good pitcher that can shut you down,” DelGaudio said. “It?s just a tough conference.”
Behind coach Lou Eckerl, Calvert Hall has won two consecutive MIAA A Conference championships, and earlier this season, cracked a handful of national rankings.
“Lou?s done a great job crafting them into a national powerhouse,” DelGaudio said.
“I?m not sure anybody is going to catch them,” St. Paul?s coach Paul Bernstorf said. “It?s kind of a battle for second place at this point and to get that [playoff] bye.”
It seems like getting a first-round bye is the main goal for everyone battling for Calvert Hall?s runner-up. With the bye, a team would likely face the competition?s second or third starter while trotting out their own ace.
“It becomes a huge advantage at that point,” Bernstorf said.
While the battle right now features Loyola, St. Paul?s (13-10, 9-4) and Archbishop Spalding (20-6, 7-5), Bernstorf noted that he “wouldn?t rule out Gibbons or St. Joe.” Cardinal Gibbons (9-7, 8-6) is in fifth, and Mount St. Joseph (13-9, 7-6) is within range in sixth.
Loyola?s regular-season finale is against the Cardinals, a May 10 showdown at Loyola.
“It would be a tremendous lift for my guys going forth into the playoffs,” DelGaudio said. “Along with everything that comes with being Loyola vs. Calvert Hall are the other elements of baseball that come in to play.”
With the earlier, heart-breaking defeat in mind, Loyola is out for revenge.
“Hopefully, this time we can cash it in and get a nice jump into the playoffs,” DelGaudio said.
