Rossi and the Bears Walk-Off with Win Over Baruch

BROOKLYN, NY – In a tense battle throughout, St. Joseph's College came out on top 6-5 over Baruch thanks to a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth by freshman outfielder Vinny Rossi (Bayside, NY/Holy Cross).  It was the first walk-off hit for the Bears since Joe Mendez (Staten Island, NY/Monsignor Farrell) won a game with a home run last March against Rivier.  The win is the Bears second in a row, bettering their record to 10-13, as the Bearcats fall to 12-11.

Sophomore Donny Pagano (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) was dealing from the get-go, allowing only one base-runner through two innings.  The Bears gave him an early 1-0 lead when Mendez doubled home Thomas McKenna (Bellerose, NY/St. Francis Prep) in the bottom of the first.  Both McKenna and Mendez finished the game with three hits apiece and it was the fourth straight game that McKenna collected at least three hits.

The Bearcats finally broke through against Pagano in the third, scoring an unearned run on an RBI groundout from Steve Hession to tie the game 1-1.  The Bears would get that run back in a big way in the bottom half of the inning.  With two on and one out, Mendez again gave the Bears a big hit when they needed it, sending pitcher Paul Perez's offering over the left-center field fence for a three-run home run, his third of the season and second in as many games at MCU Park.

After Pagano got the first two out to start the fourth, the Bearcats scratched out a walk and single before Thommy Dejesus tied the game 4-4 with a three-run home run of his own off the scoreboard in left field.

Baruch took their first lead of the game the next inning after Hession singled and stole second and was driven in by John Yuksekol.  The lead only lasted until the sixth inning as St. Joseph's tied the game back up with some heads-up base-running by Mike Cundari (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) who scored from third when the Bearcats tried to nab Joseph Boccia (Westwood, NJ/Westwood) stealing second, but the throw down from the catcher was mishandled.

After allowing runs in three consecutive innings, Pagano kept the Bears in the game, not allowing a single base-runner the rest of the way.  Pagano threw all nine innings limiting the number two offense in the CUNY Athletic Conference to just five runs, four earned on five hits while striking out three earning his second win of the season.

The game remained tied until the bottom of the ninth.  McKenna led off the frame beating out an infield single to short for his third hit of the game.  The leadoff hitter then stole second putting a runner in scoring position with nobody out.  Bearcat reliever Sami Zantout retired the next two batters before intentionally walking Mendez.  After falling behind on Rossi 2-and-0, Zantout was able to work the count full.  Rossi then pulled the 3-and-2 pitch past a diving third baseman and into left field scoring McKenna and giving the Bears the walk-off win before being mobbed by teammates between first and second base.

Rossi was the only other player to finish with multiple hits, going 2-for-5, including the game-winner.  In addition to his three hits, McKenna also scored three of the Bears' six runs and stole three bases.  The Bears stole a season-high six bases on the afternoon, three by McKenna and one apiece from Rossi, Boccia and Kevin Diaz (Staten Island, NY/Monsignor Farrell)

DeJesus was the only Bearcat to reach base twice against Pagano, scoring two runs and driving in three more.

The Bears are off until Saturday when they play a home doubleheader against SUNY Canton at Padavan-Preller Field in Bellerose, NY.  St. Joseph's will look to continue their winning streak with game one starting at 12:00 pm.