Baseball Continues Hot Start Defeating Lehman, Improves to 6-0

BRONX, N.Y. – All nine Bears reached base safely as the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) baseball team defeated Lehman College, 11-7, on Saturday afternoon  to improve their school-record start to 6-0 and have won ten straight ballgames dating back to the end of last season.

Game two of the scheduled doubleheader was cancelled due to snow.

The Lighting (3-2) struck first building a 3-0 lead after two innings before the Bears responded with three in the third to tie the game. St. Joseph's took the lead for good in the fifth putting up a seven spot building a 10-3 advantage they would not relinquish.

The Bears offense exploded producing a season-high-tying 13 hits getting to Lehman starter Aneudi Garcia who was pulled after 4 1/3 innings giving up ten runs (eight earned) and nine hits while fanning two.

Sophomore Chris Cutrone (Levittown, NY/Island Trees HS) led the Bears going 3-for-4 at the plate driving in three RBI while scoring two runs and stealing two bases. Junior Joe Mendez (Staten Island, NY/Monsignor Farrell) also went 3-for-4 including a double scoring two runs and producing three RBI. Sophomore Thomas McKenna (Bellerose, NY/St. Francis Prep) finished the day batting 2-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI while teammate sophomore Vinny Rossi (Bayside, NY/Holy Cross) went 1-for-4 scoring a run and knocked in two RBI on a single in the third.

Junior pitcher Donny Pagano (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) surrendered three earned runs in the first two innings but settled in and retired Lehman in order in the third and fourth innings before getting touched up for a run in the fifth. Pagano got into trouble to start the seventh allowing three runs before being relieved by senior Chris Vargas (Brooklyn, NY/Nazareth Regional) with one out in the seventh. Pagano finished the day going 6 1/3 innings allowing seven runs (five earned) and nine hits while striking out two picking up his first win of the season.

TURNING POINT

After St. Joseph's tied the game up at 3-3 in the top of the third, the Bears sent 11 batters to the plate scoring seven runs as they built a 10-3 lead that would put the game out of reach for Lehman. Four Bears reached base before an out was recorded with Cutrone singling to right field bringing home two runs.

After a pop up to the second baseman for the first out of the inning, St. Joseph's would receive three straight RBI singles from Danny Zaretsky (Brooklyn, NY/Lincoln), Brian Luebcke (Astoria, NY/Monsignor McClancy) and McKenna forcing Lightning starter Garcia out of the game. Mendez tacked on a two-RBI single giving the Bears a lead that would prove too much for Lehman to overcome.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Cutrone has had multiple hits in all five games he has started this season and has a ten game hitting streak dating back to last season.
• Mike Cundari ties the school record for consecutive games reaching base safely at 22.
• The Bears went 8-for-19 (.421) with runners in scoring position including three two-out RBI.
• Kevin Diaz went 1-for-3 with his second triple of the season in the seventh inning.

NEXT UP FOR THE BEARS

St. Joseph's has a quick turnaround and plays Mount Saint Vincent tomorrow at Manhattan College for a doubleheader with first pitch set for noon.