By: By Michael L. Damon
Game 1
Game 2
Brooklyn, N.Y. – The John Jay softball team split a pair of contests against Polytechnic on Friday afternoon at Floyd Bennett Field. The Bloodhounds were defeated by the Blue Jays 17-2 in five innings before returning the favor with a 14-2 five inning win in game two.
Fresh off the heels of playing what arguably was the toughest opponent on the schedule in 2009, the Bloodhounds best stride was slow to develop on this noon start.
In the first game, five of the first six Bloodhounds went down on strikes as six Bloodhounds struck out in the first three innings before John Jay began to hit its best stride.
But the visiting Blue Jays scored six runs in the top of the third to take a 6-0 lead and get first run on the Bloodhounds.
John Jay answered back in the bottom of the fourth with a pair of runs. The Bloodhounds got on the board with an RBI single to right field by
Danielle Bonici (Staten Island, NY, St. Peter's Girls) that scored
Krystal Class (Brooklyn, NY, New Utrecht) who reached first on an infield single to start the inning. Moments later,
Arlene Pena ripped a shot to right field that scored
Nina Chao.
But the Bloodhounds left two runners on base in the inning and trailed 6-2 after four frames.
Polytechnic then put the game away in the top of the fifth with 11 runs to take a 17-2 lead. The Bloodhounds went quietly in the bottom half en route to the first game loss.
In the second game, all nine John Jay starters got at least one hit en route to the mercy rule payback. Seven of the nine starters also registered both a run and an RBI as eight of nine players scored at least once and eight of nine picked up at least one RBI.
The Blue Jays took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first with a sacrifice bunt and an RBI triple.
But the tenuous lead was short lived. John Jay fired back with five runs in the bottom of the first. The first four batters in the lineup reached safely.
Nelly Vega (Bronx, NY, In-Tech Academy), who was 2-for-4, scored from third on a delayed steal to get the Bloodhounds on the board.
Later in the inning,
Nina Chao (Woodside, NY, W.C. Bryant) smoked her team leading third homerun of the season, a three run shot, to right centerfield to put the Bloodhounds up 4-2. Later in the inning,
Marlenne Nunez (Bronx, NY, Bronx Leadership Academy) hit a two out solo shot to straightaway center and John Jay was up 5-2.
The Bloodhounds did not score again until the fourth inning, when they put up nine on the scoreboard to take a 14-2 lead and win by that score.
Chao picked up the win in the pitching circle after going 4.0 innings and allowing two runs on four hits while fanning two batters.
John Jay returns to action tomorrow against Hunter College at noon at the College of Staten Island Softball Complex in a game that could have heavy implications on the City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) regular season title
