Yesterday afternoon, the Bears squared off with their second NYSAIS opponent of the season, turning back Calhoun in a 7-0 win. Combined with their 20-0 win over Long Island Lutheran, they have yet to give up a run to a NYSAIS School.

The Bears got on the board in the bottom of the 1st when Aiden Ruiz walked, moved to second base on a wild pitch, and came home on Jayden Stroman’s double down the left field line. After pitching a clean top of the 1st, Jojo Franco ran into trouble in the 2nd when he loaded the bases with one out on a pair of singles and a walk. The senior captain bounced back with consecutive strikeouts to end the threat.

The Bears added to their lead in a big 2nd inning. Seth Laureano walked, stole second, and scored on a Juju Martinez single. Devon McMorris and Alex Baaden followed with walks to load the bases, which were promptly cleared when Ruiz sent a ball over the left fielder’s head for a three-run double. Two batter’s later, Stroman sent a flair over the shortstop that scored Ruiz for a 6-0 lead. A throwing error by the second baseman followed, putting Franco on first and allowing Stroman to move to third. The Duke-bound sophomore came home two pitches later when Laureano found no-man’s-land between the left fielder and shortstop.

The 7-0 cushion was safe with Franco and Matthew Ramirez, who allowed just three baserunners over the final three innings. Franco earned the win, yielding just 2 hits over 2.0 innings while striking out 5. Ramirez allowed 1 hit in 3.0 innings with 2 Ks.

The game was dedicated to Autism Awareness, which is celebrated nationally during the month of April. The Bears wore custom jerseys and shared a statement prior to first pitch about ways to show support and understanding to the Autism community.

The Bears are back in action on Saturday when they travel to parochial power, St. Anthony’s.

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