A grueling stretch of seven games in six days came to an end on April 16 for Mentor with a 9-2 loss to NOC Valley foe Strongsville.
Despite a solid day at the plate from Dominic Dengel, who finished 2 for 2 with a run scored, and two RBI from Zak Schaeffer, the Cardinals fell to 6-3 and 1-2 in league play.
Ricky Valeri had a hit and a run scored in the loss for Mentor.
Cardinals starter Ryan Kanetsky ended up on the wrong side of the pitching decision. Kanetsky lasted 4 1/3 innings, walked two, struck out three, and allowed five runs.
Strongsville pulled away late by scoring six runs over the fifth and sixth innings.
