KC Cress led Cardinal to a 10-4 win at Fairport Harding on Monday in a Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division matchup that improved the Huskies’ record to 5-8 overall and 3-3 in league play.
Cress allowed seven hits and struck out five in his second straight complete game of the season. He also had a pair of doubles, knocked in two runs and drew a walk.
“KC pitched really well for us,” said Cardinal coach Brian George. “He gave up a few here and there but pitched well enough to win. He chipped in with two doubles offensively. He did a nice job. He’s our No. 1 (pitcher) for a reason. He’s going to pitch tough no matter what.”
The Huskies jumped all over the Skippers in the top of the first.
Clark Thurling drew a two-out walk and scored on Cress’ first double. Back-to-back Fairport errors and a walk gave the Huskies a 2-0 lead with the bases loaded. Brendan Whitney singled to score another run and Brant Zemelka, who reached base on an error, scored on an overthrow to make it 4-0.
Fairport came back with two in the bottom of the fourth but that’s as close as the Skippers would get as the Huskies added one in the fourth and five in the fifth when they pounded out five straight hits.
Joe Tucker and Whitney both ended the game with two hits for the Huskies.
“Both those guys did a nice job,” George said. “Joe is doing a nice job of driving in runs for us in key situations. He’s doing some nice situational hitting for us. Brendan is kind of breaking out a little bit. He’s been in a bit of a slump all year but he’s coming around for us.”
The Huskies also have improved on defense.
“We’re playing a lot better defense these last really four games,” George said. “I think over that stretch we may have made only two errors, which is pretty good for a high school team.”
The Huskies host Fairport on Tuesday then get their rematch with rival Berkshire on Thursday.
