Santoriello Twirls a Shutout, Collet Hits a Home Run as Baseball Sweeps John Jay 

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) baseball team brought in their first two wins in their road doubleheader with John Jay, 4-0 and 7-3, in non-conference action on Friday afternoon at Maimonides Park in Coney Island.

Graduate student Kevin Reyes batted 2-for-4 with two walks and two RBIs on the day while heroic pitching by Mike Santoriello (7.0 IP, 0 R, 5 H, 6 SO), Andrew Monda (6.0 IP, 3 R, 4 H), and Matt McHugh (1.0 IP, 3 SO) held the lead for the Bears in both Games 1 and 2.

How it Happened - Game 1

After three scoreless innings for both teams, the Bears would load the bases to start the 4th inning. Lucas Collet (Toulouse, France/Lyc'ee Bellevue) walked, Chris Leary (Floral Park, N.Y./Floral Park Memorial) wore a pitch, and Kevin Reyes (Bronx, N.Y./AECI) would walk, leaving the bases loaded with no outs. The potential tie-breaking run was called out on a fielder's choice, with a close play at home. With the bases still loaded, freshman Zach Schnabel (Baldwin, N.Y./Baldwin) would hit a sac-fly, scoring Leary in the process, and giving the Bears their first lead of the day. 

The navy and blue would end the bottom of the 4th with a 4-6-3 double play completed by Michael Gardener (Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale), Collet, and Thomas Airey (Bethpage, N.Y./Bethpage) with John Jay baserunners looming on 1st and 2nd, holding their lead 1-0 lead into the final three frames of Game 1. 

The top of the 5th inning once again saw the Bears load the bases, looking to extend their lead. This would lead to two runs being walked in with back-to-back RBIs by Leary and Reyes. Immediately following would be a pitching change for John Jay, with Louis Lombardi (Brooklyn, N.Y./St. Edmund Prep) taking advantage, scoring a sac-fly on the second pitch of his at-bat, scoring Anthony Hernandez (Selden, N.Y./Newfield) from third, bringing the Bears' lead to 4-0.

Sophomore Mike Santoriello (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph by the Sea) pitched a complete-game, seven-inning shutout, tallying a career-high six strikeouts while allowing just five hits. In those seven innings, Santoriello faced 28 batters and walked just one batter. Santoriello moves to a 1-1 pitching record, notching his first win of the 2022 baseball season. 

How it Happened - Game 2

To start the 2nd inning, Collet would reach 1st base on a throwing error by the Bloodhounds. During Mike Medina Jr.'s (Selden, N.Y./Newfield) at-bat to follow, Collet would steal second and third base, resulting in a sac-fly by Medina, scoring Collet. Soon after, the Bears' Freshman Doug Paider (Glendale, N.Y./Monsignor McClancy) would work out a walk on a full count, then steal second and third base. Hernandez would step in, hitting a two-out double, scoring Paider, extending the Bears' Game 2 lead to 2-0.

The 4th inning saw the Bears stay disciplined, drawing five total free bases via walks or hit-by-pitches. SJC would score four more runs in the inning, extending their lead to 6-0. However, the bottom of the 4th saw the Bears allow two Bloodhound runs to come across the plate cutting their lead to just 4 runs, 6-2.

In the bottom of the 5th inning, John Jay's Ivan Massari would hit a one-out RBI double, cutting deeper into the Bears lead, 6-3. The bottom of the 6th saw the Bears grab two quick outs before the Bloodhounds would load the bases. A fielder's choice at second would let the Bears escape the inning unscathed, allowing zero runs while stranding three Bloodhounds on the bases. 

The final frame would begin with Lucas Collet stepping in to hit his first career home run, and the Bears' first home run of the season, extending the lead to the final score, 7-3.

For the Bears

• Andrew Monda (Centereach, N.Y./Newfield) would grab his first win of the season after pitching six innings in Game 2, allowing just three runs on four hits with three strikeouts.
• Collet would bat 2-for-4 with two stolen bases to lead the Bears at the plate in game 2. 
• Matt McHugh (East Islip, N.Y./East Islip) would pitch in relief for game 2, striking out all three batters in the final frame to seal the Bears' second win of the season. 
• Santoriello's game 1 pitching resulted in four hitless innings to keep John Jay at bay.
• Senior Joe Grignon (Albany, N.Y./Catholic Central) would grab his first RBI of the season in game 2.
• Paider went 1-for-2 in game 2 with three stolen bases, getting his first collegiate hit, as well as his first stolen base. He also crossed home plate twice, scoring his first two runs as a Bear. 

Next Up

The Bears travel to Maryland to face St. Mary's (Md.) in a doubleheader on Tuesday, Apr. 15. The twinbill is set to start at 12 p.m. with live stats and video at SJCBears.com.