MADISON, N.J. — The City College of New York baseball team showed fight until the final out but couldn't overcome an early deficit in an 11–9 loss to Drew University on Thursday afternoon at Lonnstrom Stadium.
CCNY (1-9) struck first in the opening inning, taking a 2–0 lead on RBI singles from sophomore
Jake Brenner and freshman
Tyler Persampire. The advantage was short-lived, however, as Drew (9-4) erupted for seven runs in the bottom half of the inning, using a mix of clutch hitting and capitalizing on errors to flip the game in its favor.
The Rangers added to their lead with runs in the second and third innings, building a 9–2 cushion before the Beavers began to chip away.
CCNY responded in the fourth inning when sophomore
Demetri Zirogiannis came through with a bases-loaded triple, clearing the bases and cutting the deficit to 9–5. Drew added another run in the fifth to make it 10–5, but the Beavers continued to battle.
In the seventh, CCNY mounted its strongest push of the game. Senior
John Spallin delivered a two-run single to spark the rally, and a pair of wild pitches allowed two more runs to score as the Beavers pulled within one, 10–9.
With momentum shifting, Drew answered in the bottom half of the inning, as Nicholas Donofrio drove in an insurance run to extend the lead to 11–9. CCNY was unable to complete the comeback in the final frames.
Zirogiannis led the offensive effort, finishing 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a triple. Spallin added two RBIs, while freshman
James Anderson scored twice. The Beavers totaled nine hits and drew seven walks in the contest.
Sophomore
Samuel Puttock took the loss after Drew's seven-run first inning. CCNY's bullpen, led by freshmen
Armani Smith and
Paul Cucuzzo, combined to limit further damage and keep the Beavers within striking distance.
Drew was led by Donofrio, who tallied three RBIs, including a home run, while Anthony Vallaro and Nick Bisaccia each recorded two hits.
Next, CCNY will return to action on Sunday, March 22, for a non-conference doubleheader at Farmingdale State University