Men’s baseball pummels Lehman College

The Lehman Lightnings were grounded as their name was added to the list of teams taken down by the Baruch baseball team this season. The Bearcats strolled into this game with high hopes for the win, according to Alex Fabian.

Hard work and quality meshing between the players led to the team taking home a 7-3 win. The showdown took place on Thursday, April 26th, at MCU Park in Brooklyn.

Junior and pitcher Jeffrey Mercedes held fast to the pitcher’s mound as he dominated the game with 14 strikeouts. While Mercedes pinned the lightning batters, senior and outfielder Steve Hession notched three runs on his bat to help the Bearcats win the CUNYAC / MCU Baseball Championships. Currently they are in first place with a record of 9-1.

This game rose Baruch’s standing in their overall season to 19-17,  their best record since 2009. It was a very important game seeing that team with a record below .500 are ineligible for the ECAC championship. “It is a really big game to win. We will stay out in front of everybody,” said senior Justin Torres. “We still have two losses left to give up so its a really big deal to be ahead of everybody.”

While the team had performed spectacularly, Mercedes broke several records of his own, playing a rigorous game and raising his record to 3-0. Throughout the game he only let up hit six pitches, but did not allow a single a single walk. Mercedes also did not step down from the mound for the whole game, giving the relief pitcher a chance to take a breather.

While the Bearcats walked off with an important win under their belt, the game originally did not kick off in their favor. Baruch rode on the coattails of Lehman for the first two innings with a score of 2-1. But by the third inning Baruch had began to turn the tables on the Lehman opposition.

Hession meandered his way throughout the bases via a steal and a wild pitch, which ultimately led to him scoring a run that would tie the game up.

By the time the third inning had come to a close, the team was itching to break free of the stalemate.

In the fifth inning the Bearcats got their chance to do so when senior Alvin Mata took advantage of an RBI single to have Hession score his second run of the night. Mata himself also came around to take a run on an erratic pitch from Lehman.

The Bearcats clinched the game in the sixth inning. Junior Aldo Altamirona hit an RBI to allow Torres to score. Two batters later, Hession stepped up to the plate with Gerbino on base. Continuing his hot streak, Hession tripled to right field and allowed Gerbino to score. Hession also scored on the same play after a fielding error by Lehman. The three runs put the game out of reach for Lehman even though they tried to stage a late comeback in the eighth inning, scoring one run on two hits.

Though they won the game, Torres sees there is still room for the team to improve. “Honestly, we have so much talent,” said Torres. “The only thing I feel that we have to work on is keeping our energy up.  Sometimes we lack too much on our own talent and our own ability where we feel like the game is going to come so easy. If we stay focus within ourselves and let the game come naturally, we can [continue] to win.”