On Tuesday afternoon, the baseball team topped Half Hollow Hills East from Section XI’s League II, by a score of 6-4.

The Colts jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st with a two-out single, but the Bears answered back in the top of the 2nd when an Isaiah Gibbs ground out plated Jojo Franco. Jayden Stroman, Aidan Ruiz, and Logan Charboneau connected on a smooth 6-4-3 double play to end the bottom of the 2nd, before the Bears took the lead for good in the top of the 3rd.

Ruiz walked with one out and moved to third on a Charboneau single. On the very next pitch, Ruiz scampered home on a wild pitch to give The Brook a 2-1 edge. Alex Baaden worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the 3rd, needing just 11 pitches to do it, then worked around a single in the 4th to keep the Bears in the lead.

In the top of the 5th, the offense gave him more of a cushion when a Ruiz single sent home Juju Martinez (walk) for a 3-1 edge. Baaden threw up another zero in the 5th, and in the 6th, Gibbs blasted a two-run home run to left field to expand the Bear lead to 5-1. Baaden walked the bases loaded with one out in the 6th to end his strong outing, and sophomore Matthew Ramirez came out of the bullpen in a key spot. Four pitches later, the Bears escaped the jam unscathed when Ramirez started a 1-2-3 double play to slam the inning shut.

Travis Stroud II led off the top of the 7th with a solo home run to center field for an insurance run that came in handy during a tense final inning. After the Colts lined out to open the frame, three walks, a wild pitch, and a single pulled Hills within 4-6 with one out and the tying run at the plate. Franco showed his poise and experience by ringing up two strikeouts to end the game.

Baaden earned the win with 6 strikeouts and 0 earned runs over 5.1 innings, and Gibbs led the offense with 3 RBIs.

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