Early Runs Doom Baseball in Loss to Franklin

AUBURNDAALE, Fla. – The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) baseball team dropped a 10-3 decision to Franklin College on Saturday evening at Lake Myrtle Park on day two of their season-opening Florida trip.

The Bears (1-2) were held to just four hits in defeat by the Grizzlies (1-0) who scored seven runs in the first two innings and never looked back.

Mike Cundari (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's) led the Bears at the plate with a 2-for-3 day scoring a run. Thomas McKenna (Bellerose, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) also knocked a hit and scored a run. Both Cundari and McKenna are the only Bears to successfully hit in all three games.

The Grizzlies were led by Scott Windler who went 2-for-4 with four RBI and Scott Frey who went 2-for-3 with three RBI and two triples.

Franklin got on the board quickly Frey delivering an RBI triple after a leadoff walk and scoring on a Windler single finishing with three runs in the first. The Grizzlies loaded the bases in the second with no outs and the Grizzlies would push four more across in the second.

St. Joseph's struggled to put runners on the bases, Cundari's single in the second the lone hit through five.

The Bears finally strung together some offense in the sixth scoring a trio of runs. Chris Cutrone (Levittown, N.Y./Island Trees) drew a walk followed by infield singles from McKenna and Cundari. A throwing error by the Grizzly first baseman trying to make a play from his knees plated Cutrone. Joe Mendez (Staten Island, N.Y./Monsignor Farrell) knocked in McKenna with a single to right and Cundari later scored from third while Mendez was caught in a rundown after picked off first.

But that would be all the offense, as the Bears could only muster an Anthony DeFillippo (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xaverian) walk for the remainder of the game.

Mitch Brigando (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) took the loss for the Bears in his first collegiate start. St. Joseph's used six pitchers in defeat with Chris Vargas (Brooklyn, N.Y/Nazareth) tossing two scoreless innings in relief, striking out two. Anthony Van Sise (Staten Island, N.Y./New Dorp) and Anthony Inserillo (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) also hurled blank innings, Inserillo fanning two and Van Sise one.

NEXT UP FOR THE BEARS – Alma

The Bears close out their Florida trip on Sunday facing Alma College in a doubleheader starting at 11:30 a.m. Live stats and video will be available on SJCBears.com with updates on Twitter on @SJCBears.