Baseball Opens Season with Doubleheader Sweep Against John Jay in Florida
AUBURNDALE, Fla. - Anna Maria College opened the 2026 season with a sweep of John Jay University in a non-conference doubleheader at Lake Myrtle Field.
With the victories, the AMCATS begin the season with a 2-0 record.
GAME ONE: Anna Maria 7, John Jay 4
After a scoreless first inning, the AMCATS erupted for six runs in the top of the second. With the bases loaded and one out, Avery Acuna recorded the first RBI of the season with a walk. Andrew Denison followed with another bases-loaded walk before Justin Chiulli delivered an RBI single to make it 3-0.
A passed ball brought in another run, and Josh Batchelder added an RBI groundout for the second out of the inning. Jonathan Guardascione capped the scoring with an RBI double to give Anna Maria a 6-0 advantage.
John Jay responded with two runs in the second and one in the third, but the AMCATS added insurance in the seventh when freshman Brayden Wright hit an RBI double.
The Bloodhounds scored once more in the bottom of the seventh before Sean O'Hara entered and recorded back-to-back strikeouts to secure the save.
GAME TWO: Anna Maria 4, John Jay 3
Batchelder opened the scoring with an RBI single in the bottom of the first to give Anna Maria a 1-0 lead. John Jay tied the game in the second, but Wright answered with an RBI single to put the AMCATS back in front, 2-1.
The Bloodhounds moved ahead 3-2 after four innings before Batchelder delivered a sacrifice fly to even the score at 3-3.
The game remained tied until the bottom of the seventh, when Wright delivered a walk-off single to score the winning run and complete the sweep with a 4-3 victory.
Jesse Buonocore earned the win with a complete-game effort, allowing two earned runs while striking out three.
Wright led the AMCATS offensively, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs in game two after finishing 2-for-4 with an RBI in the opener.
Anna Maria returns to action Sunday, March 1, against Rose-Hulman at noon in Florida play.
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