Perez Grand Slam, Three Hits by Airey Not Enough for Baseball in New Paltz
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Joseph's (Bklyn) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 5 |
|
New Paltz | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 2 | X | 16 | 14 | 1 |
NEW PALTZ, N.Y. — Despite a Chris Perez (Bronx, N.Y./Mount Saint Michael) Academy) grand slam highlighting a six-run ninth, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) baseball team dropped their mid-week, non-conference matinee to SUNY New Paltz, 16-9, on Wednesday. Thomas Airey (Bethpage, N.Y./Bethpage) knocked three hits and Chris Leary (Floral Park, N.Y./Floral Park Memorial) knocked two hits as the Bears combined for 12 hits on the afternoon.
How it Happened
The Hawks shutout the navy and gray for the first six frames and posted solo runs in each of the first four innings and a four-run sixth to build an 8-0 lead until the Bears' bats came alive in the seventh inning. SJC assembled a two-out rally sparkplugged by an Airey and Leary singles. After Airey advanced to third on a wild pitch, the Bears got on the board after an Anthony Hernandez (Selden, N.Y./Newfield) single, scoring Airey.
New Paltz responded with a big frame in the bottom seventh, but the Bears remained strong in the final two stanzas, adding eight to their run total, scoring two in the eighth and six in the final inning.
The Bears took advantage of the Hawks pitching staff allowing three free passes that they combined with a timely double from Alex Goldberg (Centereach, N.Y./Newfield) and an Abner Victor (San Pedro De Macorís, Dominican Republic/John Adams) sac fly, adding on another two runs in the eighth frame.
Started by a Leary single, the Bears were able to keep it rolling in the ninth. Followed by two walks to load the bases, Goldberg got hit by a pitch to bring in the first run of the inning. Back-to-back singles by Mike Medina Jr. (Selden, N.Y./Newfield) brought in another run and Victor to load the bases back up for Perez who took the first pitch he saw over the left-field wall for his first collegiate home run.
Highlight
BASE (Highlight) | Chris Perez launches his first collegiate home run and first grand slam by @sjcbearsbasebl since 2016#BearWitnessSJC #SJCNY #d3baseball pic.twitter.com/To21UFl4Ww
— St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) Bears (@SJCBears) March 31, 2022
For the Bears
- Perez launched the second home run of the season by the Bears in his lone plate appearance. He hit the first grand slam by a Bear since Francis Rapp against Maine-Presque Isle in 2016.
- Airey finished 3-for-3 and scored a run.
- Leary also assembled a multi-hit game, going 2-for-6.
- Goldberg went 1-for-1 with two RBI, a run scored, and a double.
- The Bears pitched as a staff with four different arms taking the mound and Matt McHugh (East Islip, N.Y. / East Islip) was charged with the loss
Up Next
The Bears head to Throggs Neck, N.Y. to resume Skyline play against SUNY Maritime in a Saturday afternoon doubleheader. First pitch of game one is slated for 12 p.m. with live stats and video available on sjcbears.com/live.