On Friday afternoon, the baseball team engineered a late comeback to clip Citius Baseball Academy (Mount Vernon, NY), 10-8, at Wantagh Park.

Citius got out to a quick 4-0 lead through the top of the 2nd inning, but the Bears struck back for three runs in their half of the 2nd when the Bears used five walks, an error, and a hit by pitch to pull within 3-4 without the benefit of a hit. After Citius scored two more in the top of the 3rd, Alex Baaden helped the Brook keep pace with an RBI single that plated Jojo Franco.

After a scoreless 4th, Citius increased their lead to 8-4 with a solo home run and a sacrifice fly in the 5th. The Bears got back within 5-8 courtesy of a Sebastian Perez RBI ground out in the bottom of the 5th, but still faced a three-run deficit with only six outs to work with. Jacob Lippe struck out a pair in the 6th to throw a zero up on the scoreboard and help pave the way for the offense to come back.

Aaron Babaev led off the bottom of the 6th with a double. Logan Charboneau followed with a home run over the left field fence on a 3-2 pitch to pull the Brook back within 7-8. Two batters later, Jadden Rodriguez stood on second base with a double and, following a Franco walk, he was chased home by a Sam Ribeiro DiCanio single that knotted the game. Following a sacrifice bunt, Sebastian Perez was intentionally walked with two outs to load the bases before Jayden Stroman put in a great at bat, working a full-count walk to force home a run and give the Brook a 9-8 edge. Babaev followed with a walk to increase the margin to 10-8.

Franco came on in the top of the 7th for a save opportunity, but immediately got into trouble with a pair of walks with nobody out. He bounced back with a strikeout and a pop up before walking the bases full with two outs. In a key moment, the junior came up with the out he needed, inducing a lineout to center to secure the win.

Charboneau led the offense with 3 RBIs while Babaev (2), Perez (1), Stroman (1), and Ribeiro DiCanio (1) provided balance in the batter’s box. Part of the Bears’ success at the plate came from their patience as they engineered 15 walks, including 3 apiece from Stroman, Babaev, and Franco. Lippe earned the win in relief.

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