NOLA Cardinals advance to Connie Mack World Series

The pitching and defense formula has always worked in the great sport of baseball and it worked in great fashion for the NOLA Cardinals this past weekend.

The defense was excellent the pitching was even better, allowing just two runs in five games.

The area team consisting of stars from local schools swept through the AAABC Connie Mack 10-team qualifier at Turchin Stadium, winning all five games to capture the title.

Your 2023 AABC South Regional Champions, the @NolaCardinals are heading to Farmington for the Connie Mack World Series! Congratulations to team, coaches, and support staff on a great regional performance. @conniemackwsbb @aabc_south @GreenWaveBSB @wdsu @TimesPictures @NOLAnews pic.twitter.com/CqMrNYLHiP

— Nola Baseball Club (@Nola_Baseball) July 2, 2023

That included a 2-0 win over the NOLA Scout-Micheu team Sunday to clinch the championship.

The Cardinals also shut out the NOLA Mustangs 3-0, beat the Texas Raiders 8-0, blanked NOLA Scout Micheu 5-0 and defeated Colorado Victus 6-2.

The pitching was tremendous.

Nunez star Landon Cortez of Hahnville won twice, pitching 11 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and striking out 15. University of New Orleans signee Dominick Letort of Lakeshore pitched four scoreless innings. Delgado signee Bryce Pitts of Jesuit hurled four shutout innings in two appearances.

Delgado signee Brady Schmidt of Archbishop Rummel pitched five innings in two appearances, allowing two runs with nine strikeouts in six innings. Tulane commit Giancarlo Arencibia of Archbishop Rummel pitched five shutout innings, allowing just one hit.

Carson Ellis of East Central Community College pitched three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit with five strikeouts. Konnor Graham of Pearl River Community College and Loranger pitched one scoreless inning.

The NOLA Cardinals recorded an impeccable 0.55 ERA in 33 innings pitched while committing just two errors in five games.

At the plate, University of New Orleans signee Colton Harrison of St. Thomas More went 7 for 12 with two doubles and two RBI and AJ Seiter of Hinds Community College went 6 for 9 with four RBI.

James Bendeck of Nunez Community College and Jesuit was 5 for 10 with three runs scored and Rhett Centanni of Archbishop Rummel and Central Alabama was 4 for 11 with two doubles, two runs scored and an RBI.

Tanner Hornback of St. Thomas More and Baton Rouge Community College had three hits and Peyton Woods of Doyle and Jones Community College drove in three runs. Letort added two RBI.

“We had solid starting pitching and good guys coming out of the bullpen,” Cardinals coach Danny Riehm said. “We only allowed two runs against some very good competition. It was perfect that we did not have to go to the ‘if necessary’ game today. Landon Cortez was outstanding.”

This Ice Bath mid interview was sponsored the Hot Corner and powered by Gibbs Construction @Nola_Baseball @TheHotCorner0 pic.twitter.com/Y0tUsoXy7s

— NOLACardinals_Barstool (@NOLA_Barstool_) July 2, 2023

In the 2-0 victory today, the NOLA Scout team had a shot to tie the game or take the lead in the late going.

“At one point late in the game, the scout team had runners on second and third with nobody out and Cortez struck out three in a row in a huge spot,” Riehm said.

Corey Cousin of Slidell and LSU-Eunice pitched well for the NOLA Scout team, allowing just two runs on five hits. Xavier Brown of John Curtis Christian had the lone hit for the runner-up.

The Cardinals got enough timely hits to produce the runs needed to win games.

“We did a good job of getting two-out hits,” Riehm said. “We were able to do it multiple times in the tournament.”

The Cardinals, sponsored by Gibbs Construction, advance to the 12-team Connie Mack World Series in Farmington, New Mexico beginning July 21 and running through July 29.

“We get a little time to catch our breath and get back to work middle of the week,” Riehm said. “It’s the biggest World Series for amateur baseball with 7,000-8,000 people in the stand every night. There’s a parade in the town. It’s going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

While the competition is sure to be stiff, Riehm is confident in the Cardinals.

“We like our team, we’re playing hard,” Riehm said. “We really don’t get rattled. We’re out there to play the game. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is. We have a group of guys that fight really hard. Whenever you take a Louisiana team to a national event, you’re always in the mix. We expect this to be no different.”

The Cardinals will enjoy the trip but there is a clear goal.

“We’re not going to be happy just making the trip,” Riehm said. “We want to go to it and win it.”