Purchase, NY - The No.4 seed John Jay College baseball team erased a three-run deficit with a dramatic eighth-inning rally, but the top-seed Baruch College walked off with a 7-6 victory in 11 innings on Tuesday afternoon at SUNY Purchase in the CUNYAC Baseball Semifinals.
The Bloodhound finish the season at 2-36 while the Bearcats improve to 15-14 and will square off against No. 2 seed, CCNY, who slugged past No. 3 seed Lehman, 30-7 in the other semifinal contest.
The Bloodhounds struck first in the top of the third inning after
Jaxen Gangwish worked a two-out walk and
Alex Daly followed with another free pass. Both runners executed a double steal before
Jose Suero lined an RBI single to third base to plate Gangwish and give John Jay a 1-0 advantage.
Baruch answered immediately in the bottom half of the frame. Following a passed ball that allowed Roy Longarzo to score the tying run, Joseph Bello delivered the biggest swing of the inning with a two-run triple into right-center field to put the Bearcats ahead 3-1.
The Bearcats added to their lead in the fifth when Frank Scerra ripped an RBI triple down the right-field line to score Sam Steinman, extending the margin to 4-1.
John Jay battled back in the sixth inning.
Sebastian Sanchez drew a leadoff walk before
Mark Piri reached on a fielder's choice and later stole second.
Hayden Tackett walked to put two runners aboard, and after a sacrifice bunt moved both into scoring position,
Jayden Dixon came through with a clutch two-run single to center field to cut the deficit to 4-3.
Baruch responded once again in the bottom of the inning as Kenneth Pastrana scored on an RBI single to right-center by Nicholas Benedetto, who finished the afternoon 4-for-5 at the plate.
The Bearcats pushed their lead to 6-3 in the seventh inning after Matthew Rappa was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, forcing home another run.
Facing a three-run deficit entering the eighth, the Bloodhounds produced their most explosive inning of the afternoon. Piri led off with a single and advanced to third on a wild pitch before Tackett grounded out to drive in a run and make it 6-4.
After Dixon singled to left field,
Amaury Torres delivered the game-tying moment, crushing a pinch-hit, two-run home run to even the score at 6-6 and energized the John Jay dugout.
Both teams traded scoreless frames through the ninth and 10th innings as pitchers settled in during the extra-inning battle. Baruch reliever Joseph Bello tossed three shutout innings while striking out three to keep the Bloodhounds off the board late.
In the bottom of the 11th, Steinman reached on a fielding error and advanced to second before moving to third on a passed ball. After Scerra drew a walk, Bello hit a ground ball that resulted in a fielder's choice, allowing Steinman to score the winning run and lift Baruch to the 7-6 walk-off victory.
Gangwish led the Bloodhounds offensively, finishing 2-for-5 with a run scored, a walk, and two stolen bases. Dixon added two hits and two RBIs, while Suero collected two hits and an RBI. Torres provided the game's biggest swing for John Jay with his eighth-inning game-tying two-run homer. Piri scored twice and stole a base in the loss.
On the mound,
Michael Sgobbo started for the Bloodhounds and struck out three over 4.1 innings.
Saujan Christie tossed two innings in relief before
Thiago Telles worked four innings, allowing just two hits and one unearned run while striking out three.
For Baruch, Benedetto's four-hit performance paced the offense while Bello drove in three runs and earned the victory on the mound after throwing three scoreless innings of relief. Scerra added a triple, RBI, and three walks, while Steinman scored three times for the Bearcats.Â
