(C)2024 GamedayPhotosNYC
14
Winner John Jay JOHNJAYB 18-21
12
Baruch BARUCH 8-17
Winner
John Jay JOHNJAYB
18-21
14
Final
12
Baruch BARUCH
8-17
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
John Jay JOHNJAYB 0 0 1 2 0 0 5 4 0 2 14 13 0
Baruch BARUCH 2 0 6 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 12 13 5

W: Mauro, Michael (5-8) L: M. Murray (1-3)

Game Recap: Baseball | | John Jay Sports Information

Baseball Advances To CUNYAC Championship After Outlasting No. 2 Baruch, 14-12, In Ten Innings

New Rochelle, NY - The No. 3 seeded John Jay College baseball team trimmed the No. 2 seed Baruch College lead in half, 2-1 in the top of the third before the Bearcats erupted for six in the bottom half of the inning. 

The Bloodhounds began chipping away at the deficit, scoring twice in the top of the fourth but saw Baruch swell further, 12-3 after five innings of play. 

The relentless Bloodhounds staged a five-run top of the seventh and tacked on four more in the eighth to tie the score before Santo Anzalone delivered the go-ahead, two-run single to right in the tenth as John Jay outlasted Baruch, 14-12, in ten innings in the CUNYAC Baseball Championships opener at Flowers Park on Tuesday afternoon. 
 


For John Jay, who now stands at 18-21 overall, they will move on to compete for the league title against the top-seed CCNY on Saturday, May 11 at Maimonides Park in Coney Island. 

The nine-inning championship doubleheader is set for first-pitch at noon. Game two will follow at approximately 3:00 p.m. 

Baruch finishes the season at 8-17.

This marks the first time the Bloodhounds are in the championship game since 2018 when they squared off against Staten Island. John Jay will be looking for their league-high eighth league title and first since 2007, when they defeated CCNY, 9-7. 

Michael Mauro (5-8) was masterful in his relief appearance this afternoon, keeping the Bearcats off the board as he worked five scoreless innings of relief in earning the win. The Yorktown Heights, NY native scattered four hits, yielded two walks and struck out seven batters. 

David Michalski started the contest, going 2.2 innings, as he gave up eight runs on five hits. Alvy Grullon, who was tabbed Pitcher of the Week to close out the regular season, made his first playoff appearance, going 2.1 innings while giving up four runs on four hits. 

Anzalone and Quentin Bowman each had three hits for the visitors with Anzalone stepping to the plate seven times and Bowman going 3 for 6. Anzalone and Jaxen Gangwish tallied three RBIs apiece. 

John Spallin, Bowman, Anthony Agosta, and Hayden Tackett also added RBIs for the Bloodhounds in the victory. Mauro scored three times while Gangwish, Bowman, Axel Kappes III, and Tackett each crossed the plate twice. 

Roy Longarzo and Joseph Cocozza each sparked the Baruch offense at the plate with three hits. Cocozza tallied three RBIs while Longarzo and Julian Diaz each notched two RBIs. 
Benjamin Luciano added two hits with an RBI while Pedro Tejada Jr., Joseph Bello, and Nicholas Benedetto all had an RBI for the No. 2 seeded Bearcats. 

Starter Nicholas LaPointe allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits while walking three and striking out three over four innings for Baruch. Robert Raman gave up five runs (four earned) in two innings while Benjamin Norwood allowed three runs on three hits with three walks and a strikeout. 

Maxwell Murray (1-3) took the loss after being charged with three runs (two earned) on two hits with three walks. Bello came in from the outfield and faced three batters, giving up a hit and striking out a pair. 

Following a 1-2-3 top of the first inning, Baruch got things started with two runs in the bottom of the frame. Longarzo drew a walk before stealing second. Christopher Petrillo walked and both advanced on a wild pitch. 

Cocozza drew a free pass to load the bases. Tejada Jr. flew out to right field as Longarzo tagged up and scored the first run of the game. Bello added a run-scoring single to left that made it 2-0 in favor of Baruch. 

In the top of the third, John Jay got on the board. With two outs, Ryan Cherichella reached first on a throwing error by the third baseman and moved to second. A second straight error, this one coming from the shortstop off the bat of Spallin allowed Cherichella to score. 

Baruch produced a six-run bottom of the third in building an 8-1 advantage. Petrillo walked before moving to second on a single from Cocozza. Tejada drew a walk to load the bases. Michalski regrouped and struck out Bello, looking. The next batter, Diaz, got to him, sending a two-run single to right, scoring two on the play as the Bearcats went up 4-1. 

The offensive production continued for Baruch as Luciano doubled to center, scoring Tejada Jr., increasing the lead to 5-1. Benedetto sent a sacrifice fly to Kappes III in right for the sixth Baruch run. A walk to Andrew Page reloaded the bases for Longarzo, who singled to center field, scoring Luciano and knocking Michalski out of the contest. 

Grullon came on for him. A double steal executed by Longarzo and Page made it 8-1. Petrillo, who started the inning with a walk, walked again. The inning came to an end on a force out at second. 

The Bloodhounds found some momentum, trimming into the Baruch lead. Mauro led off the inning with a walk. With two outs, Kappes III walked and both runners moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. A free pass to Tackett loaded the bases for the top of the order in Gangwish. The Hastings, NE native reached on an infield single to first that scored both Kappes III and Mauro, as the lead stood at 8-3. 

Baruch increased their lead by nine to 12-3 in the bottom of the fifth. Benedetto reached on a one-out infield single to second. Page walked before Longarzo singled home Benedetto. Petrillo singled to Tackett at short, who alertly was got the ball to Anthony Agosta at second for the second out. Cocozza cleared the bases on an inside-the-park, three-run home run to right center field, which made it 12-3. 

Mauro came into pitch after playing first, as Anzalone moved into the infield while Isaac Salazar came on to assume the catching duties for the Bloodhounds. The realignment of the John Jay lineup would prove to be beneficial.

In the top of the seventh, Spallin started the inning with a triple to right field.Anzalone was next, sending a double to left for the fourth run of the game for the visitors. Bowman kept the extra-base hitting streak alive, doubling to center and scoring Anzalone which made it 12-5. 

Norwood came on for Raman. He got Agosta swinging at strike three but Kappes III reached first on an error by the shortstop, as Mauro scored, cutting the Baruch lead in half, 12-6. Tackett legged out a fielder's choice as Kappes III was retired at third, but Bowman scored on the play to make it 12-7.  Tackett stole second and Gangwish was hit by a pitch to give the Bloodhounds runners at first and second. Salazar stepped in for his first plate appearance and singled to right field, loading the bases for Spallin, who drew a walk as the Bearcats' lead shrunk to four, 12-8.

Mauro stuck out a pair in the bottom of the seventh, ending the inning with a strikeout of Tejada Jr.  

Momentum continued to shift in the direction of John Jay in the top of the eight. Mauro led off with a double to right. A Bowman single gave the Bloodhounds runners on the corners. Bowman advanced to second on a throwing error by the catcher and promptly moved to third on the play as Mauro scored, making it a three-lead for Baruch. 

Agosta sent a deep fly to centerfield that scored Bowman as the once nine-run Bearcats lead shrunk to two, 12-10. A walk and steal from Kappes III followed by a Tackett walk put the close on Norwood's afternoon. Murray came on. Tackett stole second but Kappes III was called out at third for the second out of the inning. 

Gangwish stepped into the box and uncorked a single to center that plated home Tackett, as the comeback attempt was nearly complete for John Jay, who trailed 12-11. Salazar reached first on an error by the pitcher with Gangwish scoring the tying run as the two teams were knotted at 12. 

Both teams squandered chances as the game went into extra innings. 

Kappes III started the tenth inning with a walk. Tackett placed a well-executed sacrifice bunt that was fielded by Murray on the mound for the first out. Gangwish was intentionally walked and Salazar worked a walk to load the bases. Bello came on for Murray and faced Spallin. 

With the infield in around the horn, Spallin stepped up and nearly placed a bunt down that would have scored the runner from third but swung through the pitch for the second out. Anzalone mustered what turned out to be the biggest hit of the game and his young career, a two-run RBI single to right as John Jay took a 14-12 lead. 

Mauro continued his dominance on the mound. He got Bello to fly out to center for the first out. The next batter, Diaz, worked a walk. Ryan Foerst, who came in on the double-switch, struck out looking for the second out. It was up to Benedetto to extend the game for Baruch but Mauro struck him out and pumped his fists as John Jay moved on in this year's postseason.

Follow John Jay Athletics
Print Friendly Version