Box Score
Staten Island, N.Y.— After falling earlier in the day to Baruch College in the opening round, the John Jay softball team kept its championship hopes alive by beating Hunter College 7-5 in eight innings in the first elimination game of the 2010 softball championship at the College of Staten Island Softball Complex.
With the win, the Bloodhounds advance to the second elimination game against the winner of the winner's bracket game, between Baruch and the College of Staten Island, which was halted on Friday evening due to darkness with the score tied 0-0 going into the ninth inning.
John Jay's pair of runs came when
Christina Perez (Brooklyn, NY, James Madison), who hit a one-out single, scored from first on a double to leftfield by
Kim Bifulco (Staten Island, NY, St. John Villa). Then Bifulco, who ended up on third on the play, came home on an RBI double by
Nina Chao (Woodside, NY, W.C. Bryant).
Earlier in the game, the Bloodhounds dug themselves into a small hole. Hunter, the No. 3 seed for the tournament, scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning after capitalizing on a John Jay error that led to three unearned runs crossing the plate. The inning was highlighted by a two-run single by
Josephine Estevez.
John Jay then got on the board with a pair of runs with just one swing of the bat in the top of the second by
Marina Gomez (Bronx, NY, DeWitt Clinton), who blasted a two-run shot well over the left field fence.
The Bloodhounds then took the lead in the top of the fifth with two more scores. Bifulco registered a two-run single to score
Danielle Bonici (Staten Island, NY, St. Peter's Girls) and
Krystal Class (Brooklyn, NY, New Utrecht), and John Jay was up 4-3.
Then the Bloodhounds added another run in the top of the sixth to go up by two. Perez registered a two-out single to rightfield to drive in
Nelly Vega (Bronx, NY, In-Tech Academy) who singled earlier in the inning.
But Hunter battled back and tied the score in the bottom of the sixth. Estevez recorded RBI numbers three and four on the game with one swing of the bat, lifting a 2-2 pitch over the leftfield fence to pull even and eventually force extra innings where John Jay took the lead and won the contest.
It was the first time John Jay defeated Hunter since 2003 when the Bloodhounds downed the Hawks 6-4 on April 14 of that season.
The Bloodhounds recorded 14 hits in the contest, including three from Chao and two each from Vega, Class, Bifulco and Gomez.
John Jay also got great defense from leftfielder
Cassandra Velez (Gaithersburg, MD, Gaithersburg) who arguably won the contest with numerous spectacular catches, including a pair of dives and a catch in front of the fence.
Molly Meehan had three hits for Hunter in the loss.
