On Thursday afternoon, the baseball team earned a 7-2 victory over West Babylon, the reigning Class A Long Island Champions.

The Bears jumped on the board in the top of the 1st when Aaron Artsen smashed a two-out triple to right field that plated Aiden Ruiz (E6) and Larry Hotaling III (FC). The Eagles halved their deficit in the bottom half when a leadoff double, sacrifice bunt, and ground out scored a run, but it would be the hosts’ only score for the next two innings as the Bears built a commanding lead.

In the 2nd, West Babylon recorded two quick outs on four pitches, but an Alex Baaden walk began a two-out rally. Ruiz followed with a single, and Anthony DeCesare walked to load the bases. Travis Stroud II was then hit by a pitch in a 2-2 count to force home a run. 3-1. The lead grew to 4-1 when Ruiz dashed home on a wild pitch.

After Nick Parker sat the Eagles down in order in the bottom of the 2nd, the Bears extended their advantage to 5-1 in the 3rd when Artsen smacked a leadoff double to center and then scored on Juju Martinez’s single up the middle. West Babylon registered an RBI single in the 4th, but that’s all the offense the Bears would allow. Meanwhile, the Blue & White offense continued to tack on. In the 5th, Mateo Lopez singled to plate a run, and in the 6th, Shea Corona scored on an error to provide the final margin.

Artsen’s 2 extra-base hits and 2 RBIs paced the offense. Parker earned the win with 1 earned run, 2 hits, and 6 strikeouts over 4.0 innings. Matthew Ramirez earned the save with 1 hit, 0 earned runs, and 2 strikeouts in 2.0 innings.

Along with their April 16 win over Commack, the Bears have now beaten last year’s Class AA and Class A NYSPHSAA Long Island Champions.

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