Bellerose, New York – The BMCC baseball team earned a split in their first CUNYAC doubleheader of the season, taking the first game 3-1 before falling in the second 10-1 on Saturday afternoon at Padavan-Preller Complex. The Panthers are now 1-4 (1-2 CUNYAC) after the loss, while the Tigers improved to 3-4 (2-1 CUNYAC) with the win.
 
Game 1 – Borough of Manhattan 3, Queensborough Community College 1
Sophomore Peter Marino (New York, New York) was lights out in game one and went the distance for a complete game victory, allowing just four hits and one run while striking out a career-high nine batters and walking three over seven innings on a career-best 109 pitches. Marino was brilliant, pitching six scoreless innings after allowing the one in the top of the first and retiring 21 of the 27 total batters he faced on the afternoon to lead the Panthers.
 
The Panthers registered seven hits, with the biggest coming from freshman Nassaiah Flores (Bronx, NY), who went 1-for-2 with a two-run go-ahead homer and two RBIs. Classmates Michael Marra (Staten Island, NY), Wiljer Casana (Miami, Florida), Christian Sidriyen (Higuey, D.R.), and sophomores Peter Rodriguez Reyes (Bronx, New York) and Marino also collected hits in the contest. Casana belted his first double on the season and picked up his first RBI while Rodriguez-Reyes picked up his team-high tied third steal of the year.
 
Noah Tannenbaum would get aboard with a leadoff walk in the top of the first and scored on a Marino balk to give Queensborough an early 1-0 lead. The Panthers squandered a one-out walk by Jeffrey Roldan (New York, New York) in the bottom of the inning, keeping the Tigers lead 1-0 going into the top of the second. Marino retired QCC in order in the top of the second and got some much-needed help from his offense in the bottom of the inning. Rodriguez-Reyes ripped a hard single with one out to get on base and then, after stealing second, was brought home when Flores went yard for a two-run homer over the high left field fence to put the Panthers in front 2-1.
 
The Panthers added some insurance in the bottom of the sixth as Marra and Sidriyen got aboard with back-to-back singles to start the inning. Rodriguez-Reyes hit into a fielder's choice, and Marra was thrown out at third, but Sidriyen safely advanced to second. Flores was hit by a pitch to load up the bases with one out, and then Casana brought Sidriyen across home plate to extend the lead to two, 3-1, when he grounded out to shortstop. Marino didn't need any more help in the top of the seventh as he worked off a lead-off runner reaching on an error with three straight outs as Casana turned a double play and he fanned pinch hitter Leonel Hernandez on five pitches strikeout to end it and give the Panthers a 3-1 victory.

James Cummins took the loss for the Tigers, going six innings and allowing three runs on seven hits with four strikeouts and two walks.

Marra led the Panthers with a career-high tied nine putouts in game one.

Game 2 – Queensborough Community College 10, Borough of Manhattan 1
The Panthers had five hits, with freshman Christian Sidriyen (Higuey, D.R.) leading the way with two hits, including his team-leading second double of the season. Classmate Jariel Irizarry (New York, NY) had his first hit and RBI of the season. Sophomore Peter Marino (New York, New York) collected a double, and freshman Wiljer Casana (Miami, Florida) also collected a hit in the game. Sidriyen also had a steal in game two.
 
The Panthers took all their momentum from a hard-fought win in game one as starting pitcher Jeffrey Roldan (New York, New York) retired three straight batters in the top of the first inning, and then the Panthers got to work in the bottom of the inning. Marino cranked a lead-off double into left field to get aboard, then scored on an RBI single from Irizarry to give BMCC a 1-0 lead. Nassaiah Flores (Bronx, NY) had a chance to add to the Panther lead but struck out looking on four pitches. The Tigers bats woke up in the top of the second as Billy Tavarez and Wyatt Rodriguez smacked back-to-back singles to have two runners aboard with no outs. Roldan's error on a James Cummins bunt gave QCC their first lead 2-1 before it was stretched to two, 3-1, on another error by sophomore Julio Liz (Bronx, NY). Roldan was able to limit the damage, retiring the final three batters going into the bottom of the second. Casana led off the inning with a single, but Miguel Baez stopped the Panther charge by retiring three straight batters to end the inning. After both teams failed to get on the board in the third inning, the Tigers added two more runs in the top of the fourth on an RBI double and single from Armando Desena and Tannenbaum to make it 5-1. The Panthers couldn't chip away as Sidriyen's bottom of the sixth double was their only hit the rest of the way as the Tigers scored five more runs, four in the top of the sixth and one more in the top of the seventh to get the split with a 10-1 victory.

Baez picked up the victory for the Tigers, pitching a complete game, allowing one run on five hits with five strikeouts and no walks over seven innings. Roldan took the loss for the Panthers, going five and one-third innings and giving up seven runs (three earned) on five hits with two strikeouts and two walks. Freshman Ethan Pagan (New York, NY) pitched strong out of the bullpen, going 1.1 innings with two strikeouts and allowing one run (not earned).

Flores led the Panthers on defense with six putouts in game two.

The Panthers will meet up against Queensborough Community College again in a road makeup matchup from March 29 in two days on Monday, April 1, at 3:30 p.m. at Padavan-Preller Complex in Bellerose, New York. For more information, please visit the BMCC Baseball Schedule Page.
 

ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
The athletic program at Borough of Manhattan Community College encompasses a total of 13 varsity teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level. For the latest news on the Panthers, please visit us at https://bmccathletics.com - the official site of BMCC Athletics. Also, become a follower of the Panthers on Instagram (@bmcc_athletics) and Twitter (@BMCCAthletics), and "LIKE" Us on Facebook (BMCC Athletics).