BOX SCORE (Baruch 1, CSI 0)

BOX SCORE (CSI 7, Baruch 6)

The baseball team went on to split a CUNYAC doubleheader against the College of Staten Island on Friday afternoon at MCU Park in Coney Island.

The Bearcats won the first game, 1-0, in an exciting pitching duel, but lost a 6-2 lead in the second game to suffer a 7-6 defeat in the nightcap. With the results, CSI clinches first place in the CUNYAC standings with an 8-2 conference record and 18-15 overall, while the Bearcats finish in second place with a 7-3 conference record and 12-16 overall.

CSI (8-2), Baruch (7-3), John Jay (5-5) and CCNY (4-6) will play in the CUNYAC Championship Double-Elimination Tournament that will take place on Thursday, April 28 through Saturday, April 30 at MCU Park in Coney Island. There is no admission charge for the games.

The CUNY Athletic Conference is expected to announce the tournament schedule and times on Monday, April 25. Lehman (3-7) and associate baseball member Yeshiva (3-7) did not finish in the top four to qualify for this year’s tournament.

The first game of today’s doubleheader on a chilly afternoon at MCU Park (Home of NY Mets Single A affiliate the Brooklyn Cyclones) began with a pitching duel and only one run scored.

CSI’s Pat Gale consistently kept the Bearcats off the bases with six innings pitched, six strikeouts, no walks and only three hits allowed, but he suffered his only run in the fifth inning. Anthony Melendez smacked an RBI double to left field to score Pooti Ben Pradubsri all the way from first base.

That one run stood up as Jesus Izarra pitched a complete game shutout with seven innings, six hits, three strikeouts and only one walk. Izarra ran into trouble in the final inning when CSI had a runner on third base and one out, but he calmly escaped by getting two ground outs to end the game.

In the second game, the two teams (7-2 records) were playing for first place and the regular season championship on the line.

CSI jumped on the scoreboard first with two runs in their first at-bat, but the Bearcats responded with four runs in the second inning and two more in the third.

Pradubsri hit a two RBI single, while Richard Melendez and John Yuksekol each had an RBI single in the second inning to take over with a 4-2 lead. Anthony Melendez raised the advantage to 6-2 with a two RBI single in the third inning.

CSI rallied with three runs in the fifth and two in the sixth inning to take over the lead at 7-6. The Bearcats attempted to score again, but could not as CSI used six total pitchers, including a different pitcher in each of the last four innings, to hold on for the victory and regular season championship to earn the #1 seed in the upcoming tournament.