Men’s volleyball continues winning stretch in CUNYAC

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Stockton Photo | Baruch Athletics

Dani Heba, Sports Editor

The Baruch College Bearcats men’s volleyball and baseball teams hustled this week, while the softball team’s doubleheader against The College at Old Westbury was postponed.

Men’s volleyball

The Bearcats steadied their game following two tough losses at the Lasell University Tri-Match on March 4, defeating both the City College Beavers and the John Jay College Bloodhounds this week.

The Bearcats faced the Beavers on March 7, winning in a dominant 3-0 fashion.

The first set demoralized the Beavers after the Bearcats won by a resounding 25-8 margin. While the last two sets were closer, 25-19 and 25-20 respectively, it was not enough for the Beavers to win any of the sets.

Jack Centeno led the way with nine kills and six digs while Defeng Han nailed seven aces, Akil Vaughn recorded four blocks and Ryan Oommen dished out 18 assists.

The Bearcats didn’t release their feet from the gas when they faced the Bloodhounds on March 9, also defeating them in a 3-0 sweep.

All three sets were fairly close, each coming in at 25-20, 25-19 and 25-18, respectively. However, the Bearcats outperformed the Bloodhounds in every major statistical category which propelled them to victory.

Centeno once again led with 11 kills and six digs. Michael Higgins led in blocks with six, while Oommen dished out 18 assists once again. Han nailed three aces on the outing.

The Bearcats are now standing at a perfect 4-0 in the CUNY Athletic Conference this season. The team will look to continue its excellent performances in a series of CUNYAC matchups throughout the next few weeks.

Baseball

The Bearcats are down in Fort Myers, Florida for the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic from March 8 until March 13.

Thus far, the Bearcats have underperform, recording four losses.

The men kicked off their weekend on March 8, playing a doubleheader against the Hiram College Terriers and losing both games.

The teams competed closely in the first half of the doubleheader, with the Bearcats tying up the game at the top of the seventh, 3-3.

However, the Terriers were able to score a run to end the game, 4-3.

Andrew Horyczun had himself a game, scoring all three of Baruch’s runs. Pitcher Nathaniel Demchak allowed only three hits and nailed five strikeouts.

The second half of the doubleheader was not as close, with the Bearcats losing by a 12-4 margin.

The Terriers came out stronger from the jump, scoring two runs in the first inning and eight runs in the second inning to put them up 10-0. By the end of the third, a 12-0 lead had been established.

The Bearcats attempted a comeback in the bottom of the seventh, where the team scored all four of its runs, but it was too little, too late.

The Bearcats went through three pitchers on the outing. Robert Fischer pitched one inning, allowing five runs and committing five errors. Jackson Jude then took over for an inning, allowing the remaining seven runs, before Jack Miller finished the game allowing zero runs and nailing four strikeouts.

The men’s team had a day’s rest before taking on the Muskingum University Muskies on March 10, where the team suffered another crushing loss, 19-7.

The Bearcats jumped out to a 5-2 lead at the bottom of the first before growing it to a 6-2 lead at the bottom of the second.

However, the team allowed 11 unanswered runs in the fifth inning, finding itself in a huge hole. The Bearcats answered with one run in the sixth, but the Muskies scored six more unanswered runs in the eighth to seal the deal.

The next day, the Bearcats faced the Haverford College Fords and faced a similar fate, this time losing 12-8.

The Fords were up 9-0 at the top of the fifth, but the Bearcats rallied back with eight runs in the fifth to narrow the Fords’ lead to just one run. However, the Fords scored three more unanswered runs in the sixth to secure their win.

The Bearcats’ final game against the Skidmore College Thoroughbreds capped off a disappointing weekend, seeing the Bearcats fall 12-0 on March 13.

The Bearcats will look to use their experience this weekend for a season that’s still young and filled with potential.