Kings Point, NY - The City College of New York and Baruch College split a pair of games on Friday afternoon at Bartoszek Field in Kings Point, forcing a decisive Game 3 in the 2026 CUNYAC Baseball Championship Series. After dropping the opener, 13-4, the Beavers responded with a resilient 7-4 victory in Game 2 to keep their championship hopes alive.
Baruch struck quickly in the opener, overcoming an early inside-the-park home run from sophomore
Demetri Zirogiannis with a relentless offensive attack that produced 19 hits and 13 runs. Sam Steinman paced the Bearcats with a 3-for-4 performance, including a triple, a home run, and five RBIs, while Roy Longarzo added four hits and three runs scored.
CCNY grabbed a 1-0 lead in the opening inning when Zirogiannis circled the bases on an inside-the-park homer to center field, but Baruch answered immediately with two runs in the bottom half and never looked back. The Bearcats broke the game open with a five-run third inning and added four more runs over the fourth and fifth innings to extend the advantage to 13-2.
Senior
John Spallin delivered a two-run double in the ninth inning, while
Tyler Persampire recorded two hits and an RBI for the Beavers.
Noel Vasquez provided a bright spot out of the bullpen, tossing three scoreless innings while allowing just one hit.
Facing elimination in Game 2, CCNY answered with one of its strongest performances of the postseason.
Baruch again struck first, building a 3-0 lead through the opening three innings, but the Beavers erupted for five runs in the bottom of the third to seize control of the game.
Tyler Persampire started the rally with an RBI single before
Erik Rank followed with a run-scoring base hit.
Rich Cirigliano drew a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded to force in another run, while
Frank Cundari and
Jake Brenner each added RBI groundouts to cap the inning.
CCNY added another run in the fourth when sophomore
Gerard Molinaro singled home senior
John Spallin, extending the lead to 6-3.
Sophomore
Samuel Puttock delivered a strong outing on the mound, earning the win after allowing four runs, just two earned, over 6.1 innings while striking out seven. Freshman
Tristan Bausenwein closed the door with 2.2 scoreless innings of relief.
Rank led the offensive effort in Game 2, finishing 4-for-5 with a double and an RBI. Spallin scored twice, tripled, drove in a run, and stole three bases, while Molinaro added two hits and an RBI.
The winner-take-all Game 3 of the CUNYAC Championship Series is scheduled for Saturday night at Bartoszek Field at 7:00 p.m.
