RADNOR, PA - The Cavaliers showed grit and a whole lot of heart in Friday's conference showdown against the 2016 national runner-up Keystone Giants, but ultimately came up just short as the Giants were able to escape Cabrini Carroll Field with a narrow 4-3 victory. 

Josh Breittholz got the nod today and turned in his best performance of the year as the junior pitched a complete game, allowing seven hits and three earned runs, while also punching out four batters. Over his last two outings, Breittholz has surrendered just eight hits and three earned runs to go along with six strikeouts. 

The Cavaliers' offense came from familiar sources as Dylan Butler and Erick Vicario both drove in runs on the day. Butler (2-4, 2R, 1RBI) and Vicario (1-3, 1RBI, 1BB) combined for three of the Cav's seven hits, while neither were called out on strikes. 

Keystone starter Miguel Reyes matched Breittholz seemingly pitch for pitch as the Bronx, NY native also lasted eight innings, allowing six hits and two earned to go along with eight strikeouts. 

After a clean first inning from both sides, the Giants Chris Panzerella, who reached on a walk, took advantage of a wild pitch and passed ball from the Cav's to easily reach third base. A ground ball off the bat of Ryan Callahan was all Panzerella needed to score as the Giants took the early 1-0 lead. 

The Blue and White would eventually get that run back in the top of the sixth as Butler started things off with his second double of the season. The junior narrowly missed his fifth home run of the season, and second in as many days, as the ball hit off the fence in left center. A dropped pop up by second baseman Bra Carreri allowed Butler to score from second and tie things up at one a piece. 

Breittholz and Reyes continued to shut down their opposition until the eighth inning, when the Blue and White tacked on two more to take what felt like an insurmountable 3-1 lead. Speedy leadoff man Shaun Stackhouse reached first after being hit by a pitch that just clipped his jersey and took advantage of the free pass as he swiped his seventh base of the season two pitches later. After a seemingly missed opportunity as Jake Dohar was retired on strikes and unable to move the runner to third base, Stackhouse took things into his own hands and advanced to third on a passed ball. Butler drove home Stackhouse with a single up the middle and moved into scoring position a pitch later thanks to another passed ball. A Vicario single to center plated Butler and gave the Cavs the 3-1 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth. 

Not to be outdone, the Giants would hold a rally of their own to retake a lead they would not surrender. Singles from Brady Barr and Santiago De La Cruz quickly put runners on first and third with nobody out. The next batter, Billy Nelson, would reach first after being hit by a Breittholz fastball to load the bases. Breittholz, however made two huge pitches as he induced back-to-back pop ups to the second baseman. It looked as though the Cavaliers would escape a bases loaded jam until William De La Cruz worked out a walk to push across a run. A two run single from Anthony Ferrezza gave the Giants the 4-3 lead they would not relinquish. 

With the loss, the Cavs move to 6-5 (0-1 CSAC) on the season, but will look for revenge when they host Keystone tomorrow at noon for a double-header. Kevin Givins and Jake Dohar will be the starters for games one and two, respectively.