Cundari Joins Century-Hit Club, McKenna Goes Yard as Baseball Takes Season Series from John Jay
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Joseph's (Bklyn) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 17 | 1 |
|
John Jay | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
BELLEROSE, N.Y. – Paced by a complete game, six-hit effort from freshman starter Rosario DiLorenzo (Howard Beach, NY/Archbishop Molloy) and the offense belting a season-high 17 hits, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) baseball team defeated John Jay by the score of 11-3 on Thursday afternoon at Padavan-Preller Field.
Bears first baseman Mike Cundari (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) picked up his 100th career hit en route to a 3-for-5 day at the plate with a RBI, run and triple.
St. Joseph's (15-8) has now defeated John Jay (2-20) for the second time this week, handing them their 10 loss in a row.
Shortstop Thomas McKenna (Bellerose, NY/St. Francis Prep) blasted a solo home run in the 3rd that broke a 3-3 tie and put the Bears on top for good and finished 3-for-4 with three runs scored and two stolen bases.
Also contributing with monster games were Brian Luebcke (Astoria, NY/Monsignor McClancy) with a 4-for-5 day and three RBI and Joe Mendez (Staten Island, NY/Monsignor Farrell) who went 2-for-4 with three RBI and two doubles.
After surrendering three early runs (two earned), DiLorenzo cruised through the final six scoreless innings silencing the Bloodhound bats allowing only four more baserunners, finishing with six strikeouts and improved to 3-1 on the mound.
Turning Points
The Bears got off to a hot start with two runs in the first, courtesy of RBI-hits from Mendez and Cundari. The Bloodhounds quickly answered, countering with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning.
With the game tied 3-3 after two innings, McKenna led off the top of the 3rd with a solo blast over the left field fence for the game winner.
St. Joseph's piled on three runs in the sixth and eighth innings and one in the ninth as they wrapped up the 11-3 victory.
Inside the Box Score
- St. Joseph's knocked a season-best 17 hits, with eight different Bears recording a base knock and five different Bears finishing with multi-hit games.
- McKenna hit out of the three spot for the first time in his career and his home was was the first of the season and the third of his career.
- Luebcke was 3-for-3 batting with two outs.
- The Bloodhounds used six different pitchers in total with none working more that two innings. Baylin Perez (1-7) took the loss in relief.
News and Notes
- Cundari became the fifth Bear to reach the 100-hit mark, joining teammates Kevin Diaz and Mendez.
- Vinny Rossi extended his hitting streak to 10 games, one shy of the longest streak this season (11 games, McKenna).
- McKenna extended his reached base safely streak to 15 games, matching the season-best streak set by Diaz.
- Mendez picked up his team-leading 12th double of the season in the win. With three RBI on the day, Mendez also takes over solo posession of the all-time RBI lead, two ahead of Diaz.
- The Bears now improve to 8-3 all-time against the Bloodhounds having won the last six meetings.
Next Up for the Bears
The Bears will take on The King's College in a doubleheader at Padavan-Preller Field this Sunday, April 21st with first pitch scheduled for noon.
