Baseball Splits their Conference Opener Double Header At FMCC

Jefferson Cannoneers baseball team traveled down to Johnstown, NY on Tuesday 4/10, for a double header against Fulton Montgomery Community College. These two games are the start of the Region 3 conference schedule that ultimately decides post-season hopes for teams.

Game 1 for the Cannoneers started off slow with only getting 1 run on the board in the first inning and then cooling off till the latter half of the game. William Magovney took the mound for JCC to start the game, and was effective early on while tallying 5 strike outs throughout 4 complete innings of work. Going into the top of the 5^th inning, the Raiders led 3-1, but Jefferson woke up the bats in the 5^th inning, while exploding for 7 runs. Nicholas Lavin was a major contributor going 3-4 at the plate while driving in 3 RBIs and 1 double, and William Sanborn was also a factor with a 2-4 day at the plate while driving in 2 RBIs. Magovney took the mound to start the 5^th inning while we led 8-3, but found himself in trouble with no outs and bases loaded. Dakota Deasy came in for a relief appearance out of the bullpen and limited the damage; by the end of the inning JCC still controlled an 8-6 lead. The Cannoneers added two more runs in the 6^th inning to extend the lead to 10-6. In the bottom of the 6^th inning, FMCC was able to find themselves with bases loaded again with 2 outs. Joshua Harvey came in to relieve Deasy, and managed to throw just 1 pitch and get the final out of the inning, helping Jefferson escape with a 10-6 lead going into the 7^th.  The Cannoneers stayed aggressive at the plate and tacked on two more run to build up a 12-6 lead going into the bottom of the 7^th. Joshua Harvey came back out to the mound and got the first out very quickly, the second batter of the inning managed to reach 1^st base. With one runner on and 1 out, Harvey gets a comebacker to him on the mound and turns up the middle with Hunter Holiday, ending game one with a 1-6-3 double play. Joshua Harvey earns his 1 save of the season and William Magoveny gets his 2^nd win of the year, with a final score of 12-6.

Game 2 of the afternoon started with the same feeling as game 1 for our Cannoneers. Fulton struck first and took an early 1-0 lead in the 1^st inning. Randolph Flores started game two on the mound for JCC. Flores held the Raiders quiet at the plate for the 2^nd and 3^rd inning, allowing JCC to get going at the plate, scoring 3 runs in the top of the 3^rd to take a 3-1 lead. Joshua Navarra had a 3-4 day at the plate with 1 double and scored 2 runs, Naim Bibovic all game long was capitalizing with runners on base, driving in 4 RBIs while going 2-4 at the plate. Going into the bottom of the 4^th inning, JCC led 3-1 but FMCC had a big inning and crossed 5 runs to take a 6-3 lead. Ethan Straub relieved for Flores, Flores finished his day with 5 strikeouts in 3 and 2/3 innings pitched with 5 earned runs.  Straub kept FMCC off balanced for the remaining 2 and 1/3 innings he threw, striking out 4 batters and only 1 earned run. Going into the top of the 7^th inning, down 6-3, Jefferson fought back and made things interesting. With 2 outs, Navarra reaches base with a single, and William Sanborn then doubles down the left field line. Bibovic hits a line drive single up the middle to bring both runners into score, cutting FMCC lead to 6-5. But Jefferson wasn't able to move the tying run around to score, ending the game with a final score of 6-5 in FMCC favor.

Jefferson Baseball looks to continue their Region 3 conference play this upcoming Saturday 4/14 with a double header at Schenectady Community College.