The Queens College baseball team opened its four-game series with St. Thomas Aquinas with a 23-8 loss on Thursday in an East Coast Conference game played in Pomona, New York.  Lebro Burnette led the Knights with four hits.  He also scored three times, ripped a double and stole a pair of bases.

QC jumped out to a fast start, scoring three times in the top of the first.  Joe Morris and Burnette had singles and Nick Osburn was hit by a pitch and the Knights had the bases loaded and no outs.  Francesco Monastra singled down the right field line scoring Morris and Burnette and giving Queens a 2-0 later.  Two batters later, Dan Walsh made it 3-0 with an RBI double that drove in Monastra.

The Spartans scored three times in the next two innings to take a 3-2 lead into the third.  QC regained the advatage as Burnette led off with a double.  Three batters later, he scored on a David Velazquez double to left.  Walsh then drove in Velazquez with another single.  Queens led 5-3.

STAC took the lead for good in the  bottom of the third scoring five times to lead 8-5.  Queens scored twice in the fourth and once in the seventh, but the Spartans won, 23-8.

Every Queens starter reached base and eight of the nine starting hitters had hits.  Michael O'Dwyer had a hit and an RBI.  Brandon Burrell was tagged with the loss and fell to 0-4.  Craig Kelly came out of the bullpen to see his first action of the season.

These two teams meet again on Saturday, April 19, when the Knights hots a doubleheader in Flushing.  The first pitch is slated for noon.