Box Score
Brooklyn, N.Y.— The John Jay baseball team reached .500 for the first time this season and increased its current winning streak to three games as the Bloodhounds defeated St. Joseph’s-Brooklyn, 14-10, at American Legion Field on Tuesday. John Jay is now 11-11 on the season.
The Bloodhounds pounded out 19 hits and a combined nine hits from the four and five hitters. The duo of Chris Nastasi (Bayville, NY / IMG Academy) and Xavier Perez (Bronx, NY / Manhattan Center) were a combined 9-for-12 on the afternoon. Nastasi went 5-for-6 with a homerun, two runs and five RBI. Meanwhile Perez was 4-for-6 with a double, two runs and two RBI.
The visiting Bears got first run on the Bloodhounds, scoring four runs in the top of the first, three of which were unearned as St. Joseph’s-Brooklyn capitalized on Bloodhound miscues, which included two John Jay throwing errors.
The Bloodhounds got half their runs back in the bottom of the first as Nastasi ripped a base hit, his first of four singles, to drive in Edwin Hernandez (Brooklyn, NY / Murry Bergtraum), who was 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI, and John Massoni (Staten Island, NY / St. Peter’s Boys), who was 1-for-4 with four runs.
The upstart Bears however added a cushion to its lead by scoring three runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 7-2 lead.
But the lead quickly evaporated in the bottom half of the frame as John Jay scored six times to take an 8-7 lead. Anthony Cestaro (Paramus, NJ / Paramus), who earned the win in relief, helped his cause by scorching a single up the middle to drive in Perez and Nastasi. Cestaro was 2-for-4 with a run and two RBI with the bat.
The Bloodhounds never trailed in the contest again and increased the lead even more in the next inning. Nastasi unleashed a two run blast to left center field in the fifth, crushing the ball, his third home run of the season, all the way onto Seaview Ave. to give John Jay a 10-7 lead. John Jay got another run in the inning when reserve catcher Nick Bentivegna (Staten Island, NY / St. Joseph’s by the Sea), who was 2-for-3 with an RBI, ripped a single to score Perez from third.
John Jay scored two more in the sixth and another in the seventh to put up a 14 spot for the game.
Cestaro pitched six innings of relief allowing four runs (three earned) on three hits, while striking out five to earn his first win of the season.
John Jay returns to action on Thu. Apr. 10 for a home contest with Drew Univ. 3:30 p.m. at Legion Field.
