The College of Staten Island men’s baseball squad improved their win streak to six games, taking two from the John Jay Bloodhounds by scores of 11-3, and 19-9, at the CSI Baseball Complex this afternoon as part of CUNYAC play. CSI was the visiting team on its own field, and scattered 33 hits on the afternoon, running their records to 16-9 overall and 5-1 within the CUNYAC. John Jay fell to 1-20, 0-8, respectively.
CSI ace pitcher Brian Russell got the ball for game one, and CSI was nursing a small lead until they broke out for late runs against JJC tosser Nico Rivera. The Dolphins led 2-1 going into the top of the fifth inning, getting an unearned run in the second, and adding another off of a wild pitch before the bats caught fire in the fifth.
Eli Rodriguez singled home Frank Sconzo who led off the inning being hit by a Rivera pitch. Then, three more runs came in unearned on an error and a Joe Palmeri two-RBI single. That made it a 6-1 game, and CSI added a three-spot in the sixth, powered by an RBI-triple from Rodriguez and a RBI-double from Frank Smith. It all proved more than enough for Russell, who did surrender two more runs in the sixth before Anthony Storz came on the pitch a scoreless seventh inning of relief. Rodriguez would add another RBI-double in the seventh as well to balloon the lead to 11-3.
Russell picked up the win, yielding three earned runs on six hits, fanning six. Rivera took the loss, going 5 innings, surrendering eight runs (four earned) on six hits, walking three and fanning three. Rodriguez held the hot bat, going 3-5 with three RBI and three runs scored. Palmeri finished 2-4, with two RBI.
In the second outing CSI got up early and never looked back. The Dolphins put up six runs in the first inning despite making two base-running mistakes that yielded outs. Glen Glennerster got things started with a two-RBI single, and was promptly plated after a Palmeri double and George Kantzian two-RBI single that also scored Palmeri. A bases-loaded walk to Nick Delprete capped the scoring, and John Jay went to Nick Gioia in relief of starter Christian Rodriguez.
The Dolphins added two more runs in the second on a Palmeri two-RBI single, but then John Jay started to chip away, scoring a run in the second off of Ryan Kennedy and then powering for four runs in the third, capped by a three-run homerun by Brian Cabral to make it 8-5. CSI, however, had a huge response to that, scoring seven runs on hits, aided along by an error in the fourth inning alone. Rodriguez pounded a three-RBI double to get the barrage going, and Frank Muzzio and Glennerster added RBI hits as well. Rodriguez stayed hot with another RBI-double to make it 16-5 in the fifth before John Jay answered with a run in the fifth and two more in the sixth to chase Kennedy. In the final inning, CSI added three insurance markers, highlighted by a Muzzio triple.
CSI scattered 22 hits in game two, led by Palmeri’s 4-5 with two RBI and two runs scored. Rodriguez finished 3-4 with four RBI while Glennerster went 3-5 with three RBI. Greg Manassa was also a force, going 3-4 with three runs scored. Kennedy got the win, going 5.1 innings, giving up seven runs (four earned) on seven hits, fanning four.
The Dolphins, now winners of 11 of their last 13 games, will take on John Jay again tomorrow at 12 Noon at the CSI Baseball Complex. It will be a single, 9-inning contest that will not count towards the CUNYAC standings.
