ATHERTON, CA – Leading on two separate occasions, the St. Joseph's College baseball team was unable to hold off Academy of Art in the final game of their west coast swing on Saturday, dropping a doubleheader to the Division II school, both games by a 10-6 final.
St. Joseph's (3-11) was led by Joe Geloso (Staten Island, NY/Monsignor Farrell), Keith Juricich (San Mateo, CA/Serra) and Joseph Boccia (Westwood, NJ/Westwood) who notched three hits and one RBI for the twinbill. Juricich hit his first collegiate home run with a solo shot in the nightcap. Juricich and Geloso scored three runs and Boccia knocked two doubles and scored twice. Anthony Langone (Staten Island, NY/Moore Catholic) also scored three times for the Bears.
Academy of Art (4-28) was led by Ryan Worley who collected five hits, two RBI and three runs. Jonathan Robbins knocked four hits, drove in five runs and scored twice. Jeff Smith tossed a complete game in game two allowing six runs (three earned) for the win.
The Bears return to the diamond on Wednesday, April 7th for a road doubleheader against CUNY rival Lehman College (4-10) slated to begin at 5 pm.
Game 1 – Academy of Art 10, St. Joseph's 6
The road team for the opener, Academy of Art jumped on starter Juricich knocking three hits and scoring four runs (two earned) in the opening frame. The Urban Knights added single tallies in the second and third and St. Joseph's quickly found themselves down 6-0.
Starter Zach Mexicano held St. Joseph's hitless through two innings, before stumbling in the third, issuing two leadoff walks, compounded by a two-out error that led to St. Joseph's first run. The Bears threatened to score more runs, but stranded the bags full.
The Bears finally got the bats going in the fourth, scoring two runs and knocking Mexicano off the bump. Juricich led off the inning with a single and later scored from third on a Geloso single. Boccia doubled to bring Geloso home cutting the deficit to 6-3.
Academy of Art extended their lead in the fifth plating three runs, two coming on a Jonathan Robbins two-out double.
St. Joseph's pulled within striking distance in the sixth benefitting from three Urban Knights miscues in the frame that allowed three unearned runs to cross the plate. The Bears managed runners on second and third with the tying run in the on-deck circle prompting Darnell Quinney to come in for the save.
The Urban Knights added an insurance run in the seventh and the Quinney shut down the Bears in their final at bat.
Juricich led the Bears with two hits, two runs and two stolen bases and took the loss on the mound giving up nine runs (seven earned) in five innings of work.
Game 2 – Academy of Art 10, St. Joseph's 6
Despite the same final score, the nightcap unfolded much differently than the opener with both squads matching each other throughout the contest. St. Joseph's held three run leads on two separate occasions, with Academy of Art coming back to equalize the game each time, finally taking the lead in the sixth inning as the home team.
Boccia led off the action with a leadoff double and Mendez drew a one-out walk. Starter Chris Davidson (San Carlos, CA/Carlmont) helped his own cause with a single that scored Boccia. A sacrifice fly from Joe Harten (Staten Island, NY/Moore Catholic) brought Mendez home, who advanced to third on the Davidson single.
Geloso hit a two-out single in the second and scored on an Urban Knight error giving the Bears a 3-0 lead. Academy of Art got on the board in the bottom half of the frame scoring two runs off starter Davidson on a Kevin Fletcher triple followed by an Andy Caniezo double. The Urban Knights drew even in the third after Kenny Rollins drew a two-out walk and stole second to move into scoring position and came home on a Mike Gutierrez single.
St. Joseph's responded by plating three runs in the very next frame sparked by a leadoff homer by Juricich, whose first collegiate home run came in front of his family and friends with the game taking place near his hometown.
Academy of Art posted three runs of their own in the bottom half of the frame to tie game for the second time. The Bears committed two errors in the inning leading to two unearned runs.
St. Joseph's managed to get a runner to third with one out in the fifth and sixth innings, but stranded him on both occasions.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Caniezo led off the inning taking the first pitch he saw to deep left center breaking the deadlock. The top of the Urban Knight lineup added three more runs with a two-out rally capped by the second homer of the inning, a Rollins two-run blast.
Now backed by a four-run cushion, Smith (1-3) retired the Bears in order to finish the complete game victory and the sweep.
Geloso led the Bears with a pair of hits and runs scored and Davidson took the loss on the mound giving up 10 runs (eight earned) and striking out five in 5.2 innings.
