FLUSHING, N.Y. - Junior second baseman Rob Bernardo (Staten Island, N.Y.) went 3-for-6 with a double, triple, three runs and three RBI Sunday afternoon at Ray Metski Field, helping the Queens College baseball team to capture a doubleheader split against visiting Bloomfield College. Bernardo's three-run triple in the third inning helped support starting pitcher, sophomore Matthew Cascello (Staten Island, N.Y.) in a 10-3 victory in the opening contest, before the Deacons evened the score by a 4-3 margin in the nightcap.
Game 1: Queens 10, Bloomfield 3
Cascello moved to 3-0 on the season with a complete-game eight-hitter with two walks and as many strikeouts, and he got all the offensive support he would need in a five-run third frame by the hosts. Sophomore Joe Salanitri (W. Islip, N.Y.) opened the scoring when his RBI single plated classmate Chris Ramanauskas (Staten Island, N.Y.), and scored one batter later along with juniors Danny Muller (No. Babylon, N.Y.) and Steven Varela (Glendale, N.Y.) on Bernardo's triple to right-center field. Junior outfielder Warren Kelly (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) capped the scoring in the inning when his sacrifice fly scored Bernardo to push the QC advantage to 5-0.
Junior Anthony Mazzella (Wantagh, N.Y.) brought Kelly home on a RBI single in the fifth inning, and came home five batters later on Varela's left-side base knock. The Knights added three runs in the sixth inning to account for the final score.
Ramanauskas and sophomore Mike Shada (Holtsville, N.Y.) each went 2-for-4 in the opener.
Game 2: Bloomfield 4, Queens 3
After taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Salanitri scored on a RBI single by freshman Nick LoBello (Baldwin, N.Y.), the Deacons (7-9) scored two unearned runs in the top of the second to take a 2-1 lead. Queens (5-6) tied the game in the third when LoBello again scored Salanitri, before an unearned run in the fourth gave Bloomfield a 3-2 advantage. Mazzella (3-for-4) plated Bernardo in the fifth to tie the game once more, before the Deacons took the lead for good in the top of the sixth.
Bernardo (double), LoBello, freshman John Eyerman (Merrick, N.Y.) and senior Tom Mercatante (Roslyn Harbor, N.Y.) all had one hit in the nightcap.
Head coach Tom Sowinski's Queens side opens up East Coast Conference play Wednesday afternoon, when it travels to Uniondale, N.Y., for a 3:30 p.m. contest versus Molloy College, in a game that will be played at Hofstra University.
