Davenport, Fla. — The City College of New York baseball team closed out the final game of its Spring Training trip with a hard-fought battle, falling 15–12 in extra innings to Vermont State Castleton on Friday afternoon at the N.E. Regional Park.

CCNY jumped out early in the second inning with a three-run frame, highlighted by RBI hits from senior Rich Cirigliano, freshman Tyler Persampire, and senior John Spallin to take a 3–2 lead. After Castleton answered in the third and fourth innings to regain control, CCNY stayed within striking distance behind a solo home run from Cirigliano and an RBI single by Spallin in the fourth.

The Beavers extended their lead to 12–5 in the sixth inning, but CCNY responded with its biggest surge of the day. The Beavers sent 11 batters to the plate in the bottom of the sixth, scoring seven runs to tie the game at 12–12. Spallin drove in a run and later scored, junior Colin Souther added an RBI single, Cirigliano knocked in two more, and Persampire capped the rally with a two-run double.

Both teams were held scoreless through the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings, forcing extra frames. Castleton broke the deadlock in the 10th, plating three runs on an RBI single and a two-run double to pull ahead for good.

Offensively, CCNY finished with 19 hits on the afternoon. Cirigliano led the way, going 3-for-6 with a home run, four RBIs, and three runs scored. Persampire also had a big day at the plate, finishing 4-for-5 with three RBIs, while Spallin went 3-for-6 with three RBIs. Sophomore Gerard Molinaro added two hits and a triple, and Erik Rank chipped in two hits as well.

On the mound, freshman right-handed pitcher Armani Smith took the loss for CCNY, with multiple relievers combining to keep the game within reach and push it to extras.

Next, the Beaevrs will return to competition on Tuesday, Feb. 24, against Rutgers-Newark at 3:30 pm in Newark, NJ.