Auburndale, FL - The John Jay baseball team closed out their five-game stint at the RussMatt Invitational on Saturday, as the Bloodhounds fell 7-4 and 4-3 in a walkoff to Anna Maria.

Game 1 - John Jay 4, Anna Maria 7

The John Jay Bloodhounds gave up six run in the top of the second but chipped away at the deficit before falling by a 7-4 count.
 

Newcomer Jose Suero led the way with two hits, his first as a Bloodhound. James Horodyski, Sebastian Sanchez, Jaxen Gangwish, Hayden Tackett, and Isaac Salazar all had a hit for the Bloodhounds. Tackett, Jayden Dixon and Salazar were each credited with an RBI. 

Michael Luongo took the loss after allowing six runs (three earned) on four hits while striking out two and walking four batters in three innings of work.  Thiago Telles came on in relief, tossing the final four frames, giving up a hit, an earned run, a walk, and a strikeout.

Brayden Wright led Anna Maria with two hits, while Justin Chiulli, Jonathan Guardascione, and Jaiden Driscoll each added a hit. Six different AmCats had a RBI in the first game.

Owen Sullivan earned the win, tossing 5.1 innings in which he allowed all three runs on seven hits while walking two and striking out six batters. The relief trio of Conor Francesconi, Alex Mandell and Sean O'Hara tossed the final 1.2 innings, with O'Hara striking out two batters.

Following a scoreless first inning, Luongo walked Acuna and Denison with the bases loaded as the AmCats went ahead, 2-0. The next batter, Chiulli, brought in a run on an RBI single before Acuna scored on a passed ball to make it 4-0. A RBI grounder from Batchelder, followed by a two-out RBI double from Guardasci, capped the six-run inning.

The Bloodhounds cut into the deficit, scoring twice in the bottom of the inning, as first, Dixon sent a hard-hit grounder back to Sullivan that scored Mark Piri. The next batter, Salazar, sent a single that plated home Suero.

In the bottom of the third, Gangwish reached on a two-out single before coming into score on a double by Tackett to cut the deficit down to 6-3.

Both teams went scoreless until the top of the seventh when the AmCats added an RBI double to push the lead to 7-3. In the bottom of the inning, Horodyski reached on a fielding error by the second baseman before advancing to third on a pair of wild pitches. He later scored on a balk.

Sanchez walked before Gangwish was hit by a pitch. The next batter, Tackett, worked a walk to load the bases and force a pitching change.

O'Hara came on and struck out both Piri and Suero to preserve the win for the visitors.

In the second game of the day and the final one for the Bloodhounds in Florida, the two teams were knotted at 3-3 heading into the bottom of the seventh when Anna Maria's Wright delivered the walk-off RBI single as John Jay fell 4-3.
 

Sebastian Sanchez had two hits and an RBI, while Itaru Asai added a hit and an RBI. Salazar chipped in an RBI as well. Michael Sgobbo took the loss after throwing 3.1 innings, giving up three runs on five hits while walking four and striking out three. Alex Morrissey also threw 3.1 innings, giving up a run on two hits while walking one and striking out a batter.

Wright had three hits, including the game-winner while driving in a pair of RBIs. Brady Aylward had two hits while Josh Batchelder finished with two RBIs in the contest.

The AmCats struck first with an RBI single from Batchelder. In the top of the second, the Bloodhounds evened the scored at 1-1. Salazar reached on a fielding error by the Anna Maria second baseman, which allowed Piri to score. Wright continued to hurt the Bloodhounds, sending an RBI single that scored Aylward as Anna Maria went back ahead, 2-1.

John Jay scored in the third and fourth innings to take a 3-2 lead. Horodyski was hit by a pitch to start the inning before Sanchez doubled him in in the third. Dixon started the fourth by reaching first after being hit. Asai singled, scoring Dixon that made it 3-2 in favor of John Jay.

Batchelder tied the game at 3-3 with a sacrifice fly to center field. The score remained that way until Wright singled in the game-winning run with two outs.

The Bloodhounds are scheduled to play against Old Westbury on Friday, March 6.