Box Score Box Score
Brooklyn, N.Y.— James DeCesare (Staten Island, NY/ Moore Catholic) ripped a one out double into the right centerfield gap as John DeCrescenzo (Brooklyn, NY/ Telecommunications) dashed around from first base to score the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning as the John Jay baseball team defeated CCNY 14-13 at Legion Field on Sunday.
With the win the Bloodhounds, who claimed first place in the conference for the second year in a row after winning on Saturday, improve to 22-13 overall and end the 2007 CUNYAC regular season with a 16-2 mark.
The visiting Beavers took the lead in the top of the first inning with three runs before the Bloodhounds tied the game in the bottom of the second with one swing of the bat and some help from the CCNY fielding.
Richard Santana (New York, NY/ A Phillip Randolph) ripped a triple down the right field line to score Kenny Sepulveda (Valley Stream, NY/ Valley Stream Central) and Joe Ayala (Bronx, NY/ St. Raymond’s). Santana then followed them home on the same play after the CCNY second baseman failed to cut the ball off cleanly.
The Bloodhounds then took the lead in the next inning when Sepulveda was bean balled with the bases loaded to force home DeCesare.
John Jay followed up with five more runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 9-3 lead.
But the insurance runs were paid back with interest by the Beavers as CCNY stormed ahead with an eight run inning in the top half of the sixth to take an 11-9 lead scoring three runs off of starting pitcher John Massoni (Staten Island, NY/ St. Peter’s Boys) and five off of reliever Joe Ayala (Bronx, NY/ St. Raymond’s).
The Bloodhounds got one run back in the bottom half of the inning when DeCesare ripped a single down the left field line to score DeCrescenzo for the first of two times in the game.
John Jay took the lead in the seventh with a pair of runs. They tied the game on an RBI bunt single by Mike Cafagno (Port Chester, NY/ Family Foundation) that rolled through the left side of the infield and scored Santana from second. Moments later the Bloodhounds took the lead as Ayala sent an infield pop up to the left side of the pitcher’s mound with two outs and the bases loaded that was not caught allowing Gonzalo Gonzalez (Brooklyn, NY/ FDR) to come home.
CCNY and John Jay failed to score in the eighth. But in the final inning the Beavers got two runs across to reclaim the lead setting the stage for the game ending heroics by the Bloodhounds.
The inning started with Cafagno ripping a single through the left side of the infield. Anthony Cestaro (Paramus, NJ/ Paramus) layed down a sacrifice bunt to get Cafagno into scoring position.
The Bloodhounds tied the game in the next at-bat as DeCrescenzo lashed a single through the right side, and after a pitching change DeCesare would end it with his shot to the right field fence as DeCrescenzo scored standing to seal the deal.
The Bloodhounds are now 34-2 the past two seasons in the conference regular season as they head into the conference tournament starting on Thursday at the College of Staten Island baseball complex. John Jay will square off with CSI in a No. 1 vs. No.4 match-up at 4 p.m.
For the game Cafagno was 4-for-4 with two runs and two RBI, while Santana, Gonzalez, DeCesare, and DeCrescenzo went 3-for-5. Santana scored three times and drove in three runs for the Bloodhounds.
John Jay will return to action on Tue. May 8 for their final regular season game of the season, a non conference home affair against Polytechnic Univ. starting 3:30 p.m. at Legion Field.
