(Bronx, NY) – Junior Binyamin Cooper (Teaneck, NJ/MTA) went 2 for 3 with an RBI, and fellow junior Zachary Weiner (Sharon, MA/Maimonides) enjoyed three solid innings of work as a relief pitcher, but the Yeshiva University Baseball team fell 9-1 to Baruch College in their season-opener on Wednesday night at Taft High School in the Bronx.

The game was a close one for much of the three-hour battle as Baruch (1-0) scored twice in the first inning and once in the third inning to take a 3-0 lead. However, from there, junior Benjamin Susswein (Yonkers, NY/MTA) and Weiner combined to stall the Bearcats' offense as Baruch could not muster much offense until a four-run ninth inning blew the game wide open. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Yeshiva got on the board for the first time this season after the Maccabees loaded the bases with nobody out, and it appeared a major rally was in the works. However, two straight YU strikeouts set the stage for Cooper, who promptly delivered a single that brought junior Seth Fein (Woodmere, NY/Hebrew Academy of Long Beach) home to make it 4-1. However, that was as close as Yeshiva would get.

The Maccabees had seven hits, compared to Baruch's 11. Fein, was terrific, going 1 for 4 with a run scored, a walk, and a stolen base.

The Maccabees return to action on Thursday night when they host the same Baruch team at 7:45 p.m. at Taft High School.