If you are going to win 40 games in a season for the first time in school history, it only makes sense to do so in dramatic fashion.
Tied 5-5 with No. 15 Bossier Parish in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 1 of a doubleheader Tuesday afternoon at Drumgoole Field at Cain Park, seemed like the perfect time for the 16th-ranked Cardinals. So be it.
With one out and the bases empty, Malakoff freshman Addison Wittram stepped to the plate and yard-orbited a pitch over the fence in right field to propel the Cardinals into unchartered 40-win waters.
The 6-5 win improved the Cardinals to 40-13 on the season and, in Region XIV Conference, kept them in contention for a North Zone championship and No. 1 seed in the upcoming regional tournament.
But … the Cardinals were not finished.
In Game 2, they also came away a one-run winner, 8-7.
The Cardinals (41-13) are scheduled to play at home for the final time Thursday when 10th-ranked Paris (41-9, 18-4) visits for a pair of games starting at 3 p.m. The Cardinals are 17-3 in league play.
Bossier Parish dropped to 36-12-1 and 19-5 with the losses. The Cavaliers have completed their regular season schedule.
No decision has been announced when/if the Cardinals' postponed doubleheader April 21 at Navarro will be played.
Here's a recap of Tuesday's games:
GAME 1
TVCC 6, Bossier Parish 5
(9 innings)
The Cardinals scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to go up 5-4. Bossier Parish tied it back up with a run in the top of the sixth and eventually send it into extra innings, where Wittram would end things with one swing of the bat.
Mirana Pena had a solid performance in the circle to pick up the win. She worked four innings, giving up two hits and striking out three. She was backed up by an errorless defensive effort.
The Cardinals had eight hits, led by Wittram's 2-for-5 showing.
Counting the game-winning home run, the Cardinals had four extra-base hits. Kiara Wiedenhaupt and Jaeden Burnham each had a double and Miriah DeBose slapped a triple.
GAME 2
TVCC 8, Bossier Parish 7
The Cardinals scored four in the bottom of the sixth inning to carry and 8-4 lead into the final inning. Bossier Parish paraded three runs across the plate, but was unable to get the equalizer when Mikayla Marrujo took over in the circle to get the final out.
Cardinal bats were livelier in the win, collecting 13 hits.
Wittram was again the top producer at the plate. She went 3-for-3, including a pair of doubles, and drove in four runs.
Alizah Fields, Burnham, Wiedenhaupt and DeBose each had two hits. DeBose drove in two runs and also scored twice.
Abby Hollingsworth, DeBose and Burnham each had a double.
Nicole Stuhr got the win in the circle for the Cardinals, going six innings.
