Box Score
STATEN ISLAND, NY —The top seeded Baruch Bearcats (20-19) capitalized on a pair of errors by the No. 4 seed John Jay (12-20) which led to two unearned runs and it proved to be the winning difference as Baruch defeated the John Jay Bloodhounds 3-1 at the College of Staten Island Softball Complex in the opening game of the 2010 CUNYAC Softball Championship,
With the win, Baruch advances into the winner's bracket game at 5 pm, against the winner of the tournament's other game, College of Staten Island and Hunter College, while John Jay moves into the first elimination game at 3 p.m. against the loser between the Dolphins and Hawks.
Both teams scattered seven hits, but John Jay's costly errors proved to be the winning difference. The Bloodhounds' lone run came just five pitches into the contest when leadoff batter, sophomore centerfielder, Nelly Vega (Bronx, NY, In-Tech Academy)lined a homerun just over the leftfield fence to put John Jay on top.
But Baruch came back with a pair of runs in the second frame to take a 2-1 lead. Nicole Flint started the inning by reaching on an error by the John Jay shortstop. Later in the inning, Baruch's Michele Runko laced a double to centerfield to score Flint and Melanie Pellegrino who reached first on an infield single.
The Bearcats capitalized on another John Jay miscue in the fifth. With two outs and a runner on first, Baruch's Idelissa Lluveres recorded a single, but a throwing error by the John Jay leftfielder allowed the runner on first, Ashley Brandow, to score from first.
John Jay threatened in the top of the seventh. Back-to-back two-out singles by Angela Lam (Brooklyn, NY, Newtown) and Vega got the tying runs on base, but Baruch got the final out to secure its spot in the winner's bracket game.
Andrea Tepfer earned the win after allowing a run on seven hits with 12 strikeouts. Lam suffered the loss after going 6.0 innings and allowing three runs (one earned) on seven hits.
