A special Father's Day treat was in store for fans of the fourth-grade Cardinals as they battled the Mets in the season's championship game at Valley Park on June 19.

The Mets came out swinging in the first inning, putting a run on the board when Alec Kucich drove in Pat Carroll to get things started. The Cards came right back in the bottom of the inning with JB Thompson's clutch, two-out triple, driving in a fleet-footed Drew Baranello for their team's first run. The crowd was on its feet after the Mets loaded up the bases with no outs in the second inning, but Lucas Pracher was untouchable in relief for the Cards as he retired all three batters he faced to get out of the inning without giving up a run. The Cards went ahead when Max Ronbeck, who found his bat in the second-half of the season, scampered home in a cloud of dust on a big hit from Mike Risica. The Cards added an insurance run when a double by the always productive Pratcher scored Risica to put the score at 3-1. The Mets pulled to within one in the fourth inning as Kucich scored on a hit by Stephen Bourget who, along with Kucich, had a big day at the plate.

Offensive standouts for the Cards included Nick Zenobio and Charles Kline, both of whom went 2-2, while Evan Tortora, Matt Ferrone, Jake Shelton, Nick Zahn and Brenden LaRaja each had solid at-bats and strong play in the field. The Mets kept it interesting for all six innings with strong pitching performances turned in by Brandon Rosenberg and Donald Spampinato and solid defense by Chris DePreta, Chris Grillo, Ben Rutkovsky, Michael Scrobe, Will King, Mike Joyce, Harrison Felman and JP Schiefele. Tyler Juliano secured the Cards 3-2 win with a commanding five strikeouts over two innings on the mound and further helped the cause with a hit of his own.

Congratulations to the champion Cardinals and Head Coach Rick Pracher and Assistant Coaches Andrew Baranello and Jim Juliano, who provided the boys with the right mix of game skills, encouragement and good sportsmanship all season long. All benefited from their fine leadership on and off the field and will surely recall memories of an exciting 2005 season for years to come.