Pomona, N.Y. – The City College of New York baseball team earned a strong midweek victory on Wednesday evening, defeating St. Joseph's University - Brooklyn 7–2 at Clover Stadium.
CCNY improved to 2-11 overall with the win, using timely hitting and a dominant performance on the mound from freshman Armani Smith, who earned his first win of the season.
St. Joseph's Brooklyn struck first in the bottom of the third inning when William King doubled to left center to bring home a run and give the hosts a 1–0 lead.
The Beavers quickly responded in the fourth inning. Senior Erik Rank delivered a clutch single up the middle that drove in senior Rich Cirigliano and junior Jake Brenner, putting CCNY ahead 2–1.
CCNY added to its lead in the fifth inning when sophomore Demetri Zirogiannis launched a ground-rule double to left center, scoring senior John Spallin to extend the advantage to 3–1.
The Beavers continued their offensive momentum in the sixth. Rank came through again with another key hit, lining a single through the right side that brought home both Cirigliano and Brenner for his third and fourth RBIs of the night and a 5–1 CCNY lead.
St. Joseph's trimmed the deficit in the eighth inning after George Demacopoulos drove in a run on a single up the middle, making it 5–2.
CCNY sealed the victory in the ninth inning. An error by the St. Joseph's shortstop allowed John Spallin to score, and Tyler Persampire followed with an RBI double down the left field line to push the final margin to 7–2.
Rank led the Beavers offensively, going 3-for-4 with four RBIs. Spallin and Zirogiannis each added two hits, while Cirigliano scored two runs.
On the mound, freshman Armani Smith earned his first win of the season, delivering a strong start, pitching seven innings, allowing one run on three hits while striking out nine. Junior Amaan Jafery and graduate student Noel Vasquez combined to close out the final two innings.
CCNY finished the night with 11 hits, while the pitching staff held St. Joseph's Brooklyn to six hits.
Next, CCNY opens conference on Friday with a doubleheader on the road against John Jay College at noon.
