Union, NJ – The John Jay baseball team fell to Baruch on Friday at Jim Hynes Stadium, falling in the opener 3-1 in extra innings (9 innings) before pulling away late for a 9-1 victory in game two.

The Bloodhounds fall to 1-24 and 0-4 in league action while the Bearcats improved to 8-11 overall and remained unbeaten in conference play at 6-0.

Game 1 — Baruch 3, John Jay 1 [9 innings]
The opening game featured a tightly contested pitchers' duel that remained tied into the ninth inning. Both starters were sharp, with John Jay's Alex Morrissey and Baruch's Andrew Lapointe matching each other inning-for-inning.

Baruch struck first in the third inning when Roy Longarzo singled, stole second, and scored on an RBI single by Sam Steinman to give the Bearcats a 1-0 lead. Morrissey limited further damage and kept the Bloodhounds within reach, turning in seven strong innings while allowing just one run on six hits and striking out six.

John Jay responded in the fifth inning. James Horodyski reached on a throwing error and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Jayden Dixon. Lucas Perez followed with a single to put runners on the corners, and Jaxen Gangwish delivered a two-out RBI single to center to score Horodyski and tie the game at 1-1. Gangwish finished 1-for-3 with an RBI and a walk, while Perez and Isaac Salazar each recorded hits to pace the Bloodhounds.

The game remained deadlocked until the ninth inning. Peter Marino led off with a single and advanced to second on a stolen base. After a walk and two outs, Longarzo ripped a triple into right-center field, driving in both runners to give Baruch a 3-1 advantage. Longarzo finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored, while Marino went 2-for-4 with a run and two stolen bases. Joseph Bello also added two hits for the Bearcats.

Nicholas Lapointe earned the win in relief for Baruch, while Bello struck out two in the ninth to record his fifth save. Morrissey's strong outing kept John Jay competitive, and the Bloodhounds received additional hits from Jose Suero, Matthew Apostolou, and Mark Piri in the loss.
 
Game 2 — Baruch 9, John Jay 1
Baruch carried its momentum into game two, scoring in five different innings and breaking the game open with a four-run seventh inning.

The Bearcats opened the scoring in the second inning when Matthew Rappa doubled and came home on an RBI single by Michael Rossi. Rossi, who finished 2-for-3 with three RBI and a sacrifice fly, led the Baruch offense throughout the contest.

Baruch added two more runs in the third inning. Roy Longarzo singled and later scored on a fielder's choice by Joseph Bello, and Sam Steinman crossed the plate moments later on another run-scoring fielder's choice by Kenneth Pastrana to extend the lead to 3-0.

The Bearcats pushed the advantage to 4-0 in the fourth inning when Nicholas Benedetto singled and later scored after Bello worked a bases-loaded walk. Bello finished with two RBI in the game.

John Jay answered in the bottom half of the fourth. Sebastian Sanchez led off with a ground-rule double and moved to third on a single by Isaac Salazar. James Horodyski then reached on a fielder's choice, allowing Sanchez to score and cut the deficit to 4-1. Salazar finished 2-for-3 to lead the Bloodhounds offensively, while Sanchez went 1-for-3 with a double and run scored.

Baruch extended the lead in the fifth inning when Pastrana walked, advanced to third, and scored on Rossi's sacrifice fly to make it 5-1.

Starting pitcher Benjamin Norwood controlled the game from the mound for the Bearcats, tossing six innings while allowing just three hits and one run with seven strikeouts to improve to 4-1 on the season.

The Bearcats broke the game open in the seventh inning. Frank Scerra singled and advanced on an error before Pastrana reached and Rappa walked to load the bases. Rossi delivered another RBI single, followed by a run-scoring hit from Nicholas Benedetto. Longarzo then drew a bases-loaded walk, and Peter Marino capped the rally with a sacrifice fly as Baruch plated four runs to extend the lead to 9-1.

Pastrana scored twice and stole two bases, while Benedetto went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run. Rappa doubled and scored twice, and Steinman tripled and reached base multiple times.

For John Jay, Salazar's two-hit performance led the offense, while Sanchez's double set up the team's lone run. Julian Diaz added a stolen base, and the Bloodhounds received innings in relief from Michael Sgobbo and Saujan Christie.

John Kim tossed a scoreless seventh inning to close out the victory and secure the doubleheader sweep for Baruch.