After a roller coaster ride of a first season, the NYU Baseball team is on the brink of an inaugural season above .500 with just two games remaining. The softball team, on the other hand, has been working since the beginning of the season to turn their first season as a team into a positive one.

In doubleheader action, the baseball team took two games from the City College of New York on Wednesday. In the first game of the afternoon, the Violets had to come from behind, winning 9-8 in an exciting offensive battle. The Beavers struck first, putting the Violets in a deep hole in the top of the third inning. The offensive barrage began with CCNY senior Bobby McDowell’s RBI double, and ended with a bases-loaded walk to give the Beavers an early 6-0 cushion.

The Violets stormed back in the bottom of the inning, scoring four to cut the lead to two. Freshman C.J. Picerni led the Violet rally with a two-run double.

Not to be outdone, CCNY scored 2 more runs in the top of the fourth inning, but once again the Violets responded, tying the game in the bottom of the inning courtesy of Picerni, sophomore Adrian Spitz and freshmen Matthew Miller and Christian Bloom,. Miller and Bloom both connected on RBI singles, cutting the Beaver’s lead to two. Spitz’s sacrifice fly brought Miller home, and Picerni delivered again with an RBI triple.

The Violets went ahead in the bottom of the fifth with another RBI single from Miller, which gave them a lead they would not give up. NYU’s bullpen was able to right the ship, as freshmen Michael Anastasiou, Matthew Wells and Matthew Millus shut down the Beavers, only surrendering one hit in the final three innings. Anastasiou earned his first win of the season, while Millus picked up his seventh save.

The second game of the day proved to be more comfortable for NYU. With runs coming early and often, the Violets won 9-3 and reached .500 for the first time since March 10, when they had a record of 3-3.

Adrian Spitz’s success carried into game 2 with a homer in the bottom of the first inning to give the Violets a 1-0 lead. CCNY tied the game at one in the second, but NYU ran away with the game in the 3rd inning, scoring 4 runs to take the lead for good.

Christian Bloom led the way offensively, going 2-3 with two RBIs in the leadoff spot. Freshman Chase Denison pitched a complete seven-inning game, only giving up one earned run on 3 hits for his third win of the year.

With the opportunity to finish above .500 in their first season within grasp again, The Violets are excited to be in a position to finish strong.

“We really want to win the next two so we can finish two games above .500, which will be great for a first year program, and good to build off of next year,” Denison said.

NYU’s softball team was in doubleheader action as well, splitting two games against the Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham Devils. The Lady Violets dropped the first game 4-1, but bounced back nicely in the second game, winning 7-5.

FDU-Florham held the Lady Violets to just four hits in game one. In the fourth inning, junior Wynne McCann gave the Devils a 1-0 lead via an RBI double. It was a lead FDU would not relinquish. Held to just four hits, NYU struggled against FDU pitcher Sydney Worek. Sophomore Molly Webber was able to get the Lady Violets on the board with a sixth inning RBI, but it proved to be not enough.

The roles were reversed in the second game of the day, however. With an early 2-1 advantage, NYU exploded offensively in the fifth and sixth innings, combining for five runs. Junior Kahala Bonsignore was the offensive spark, going 2-4 with 3 RBIs. FDU nearly staged a comeback in the seventh inning, but sophomore Jacqueline Tremblay was able to get the final two outs of the game, leaving the tying run on base to earn her fourth win of the year.

Both teams finish their regular seasons with doubleheaders. The baseball team will travel to the Bronx to play two games against Lehman College, while the softball team will finish one day earlier at home against Yeshiva University.

Email Michael Thompson at [email protected].