Bears Struggle in 13-4 Loss to USMMA

KINGS POINT, NY – St. Joseph's traveled to Long Island, looking to avenge an early season loss the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA). The Bears were unsuccessful though, falling 13-4.

USMMA jumped on top early, scoring three runs in the first inning of Bears' starter Donny Pagano (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's). The Mariners strung together five straight two-out singles to score all three runs in the inning.

Two innings later, the Mariners padded their lead with a four-run third inning to take a 7-0 advantage. Dustin Thomsen hit a two-run homer and with two outs the Mariners once again rallied scoring two more runs.

St. Joseph's threatened to close the gap in the top half of the fourth inning, loading the bases with nobody out. The Bears were only able to get one run in on a sacrifice fly and the inning ended with the Mariners inducing a double-play.

With Pagano out of the game, the Mariners tacked on runs in the fifth and sixth innings. An unearned run scored in the fifth and three runs came across on five singles in the sixth to put the game out of reach.

The Bears were able to scratch out three runs in the eighth inning, but it was too little too late at that point, as they dropped to 5-20 on the season.

St. Joseph's had four players with multiple hit games including Joseph Boccia (Westwood, NJ/Westwood), who had a team high three hits and Simon Diaz (South Plainfield, NJ/South Plainfield) who singled twice in his second start of the season. Kevin Diaz (Staten Island, NY/Monsignor Farrell) and Jon Mendez (Brooklyn, NY/Xaverian) also extended their hitting streaks to seven games apiece.

USMMA (11-13-1) finished with 17 hits and three starters with three hits each. Thomsen led the way going 3-for-4 with three runs, three RBI and a home run.

The Bears are off until Friday, April 29th, when they take on Drew in Madison, NJ at 4:00 pm. The game is their second of a five-game road trip.