Flushing, NY- After a day that saw the Queens College Baseball go on an offensive onslaught, Sunday's doubleheader brought a different tale between two teams, but the same results. The Knights prevailed over the Bears of Bloomfield College in game one with a 3-2 walk-off fashion, before coming alive in game two for an 11-2 win. The Knights improved their record to 8-6-1, while the Bears moved to 0-16. 

Game One: Queens College 3, Bloomfield 2

Game one saw a pitcher's duel between Queens starter senior Dennis Buckstein (6.0IP, H, ER, 6K, 3BB) and Bloomfield's starter Anthony Maldonado (6.0IP, 6H, ER, 5K, 3BB). The Bears took an early lead after Javell Barnes singled to right field to start the inning. Following a failed picked-off attempt which saw Barnes advance to second and then to third base following a wild pitch. After walking Elvis Lopez, Buckstein got Anthony Elefante to roll into a double play but was unable to prevent the Bears in taking a 1-0 lead. After the Knights were sent down in order for two straight innings, Queens knotted the game 1-1 in the bottom of the third. Freshmen Jesse Spellman (1-3 AB, R) started the inning with a single to center field before moving to third following a single to left field from freshmen catcher Nick Font (1-2 AB, R, BB). Freshmen Jon Strauss (1-4 AB, RBI) doubled to left center to bring home Spellman to tie the game. With the Knights threatening to break the game open, Strauss was picked off at second to leave the game tied 1-1.

In the bottom of the fourth, Queens threatened once again as they left the bases loaded with Maldonado working out of a jam. Buckstein settled down after the first inning but ran into a jam in the top of the sixth. After a lead-off walk to Lopez, the Knights ace got Elefante to pop-out to shortstop before an error in the outfield put runners on first and second. Buckstein got into a duel with Tyree Bradley which saw an eight-pitch at-bat before finally getting Bradley to swing on an off-speed pitch. With the Bears still threatening in a tie game, Justin Sanchez worked to take a 3-1 at-bat advantage before back to back pitches got the second-basemen to strikeout keeping the game tied. Maldonado was not to be outdone by Buckstein as he followed the same pattern in the Knights inning. After junior Joe O'Rourke (1-3 AB, 2B) doubled to right field to start the inning, sophomore Brian Wright was caught stealing third to prevent any further damage to set up an exciting seventh inning for both sides. 

Junior pitcher James McGee (W, 2-0, 1.0IP, H, ER, 2BB) relived Buckstein in hopes of keeping the game tied at 1-1. After a single and walk to the first two Bears batters put runners on first and second, Elmy Antonio advanced the runners on a sacrifice bunt. McGee loaded the bases with a walk to Barnes before Lopez flew out to center field with a sacrifice fly to give the Bears a 2-1 lead. The Knights worked out of a jam getting Elefante to ground out to shortstop to set up a thrilling end for Queens. Kevin Mojica (L, 0.1IP, 2ER, 3BB) relived Maldonado in hopes of giving his team their first win of the season. Mojica put runners on first and second following a walk and hit by pitch. Strauss advanced both runners before the Bears intentionally walked senior Ron Linsalato knowing the damage he can do. Antos knotted the game 2-2 with a walk as Mojica was unable to find his location. With bases loaded, it set up a thrilling finale for junior Ronmel Ocampo up to bat. A hard blast to shortstop scored the winning run as the Bears were unable to pull off a double play to give the Knights a 3-2 win. 

Game Two: Queens College 11, Bloomfield 2

    Game two brought the offense alive as the Knights took an early lead and never let up. Freshmen Jayson Rodopoul (1-3AB, RBI, R, BB) started the game with a single to right field before advancing to second and third on wild pitches. With no outs, O'Rourke (0-3AB, RBI, R, BB) grounded into a double play but drove home Rodopoul for a 1-0 lead. Sophomore pitcher Dimitri Papazoglou (2.0IP, H, ER, 4BB) got the start in game two but the lefty struggled for his location giving up four walks in his stay. The Bears started the top half of the second half inning with a walk before a double from Kendon Strachan put runners on the corners. After Papazoglou walked his next batter, the Bears knotted the game 1-1 following a passed ball but escaped the inning without any further damage. 

The Bears starter Carlos Rodriguez (L, 2.1IP, 3H, 7ER, 4B) struggled with his location as he loaded the bases after he hit two straight Knights batters. After walking Strauss (0-3AB, RBI, BB), junior Louis Antos (2-3AB, 2RBI, BB) delivered the lead for good with a two-RBI single through the left side for a 4-1 lead. Queens continued to pile on the runs scoring seven more runs in the next three innings to complete the 4-0 sweep of Bloomfield. Freshmen John Rodopoulos (W, 2-0, 3.0IP, 4H, 4K, 2BB) pitched three shutout innings to prevent any further comeback from the Bears. 

UP NEXT: On Tuesday (Mar. 19), the Queens College Baseball team continue non-conference action as they travel to Caldwell, NJ for a single game against the Cougars of Caldwell University (2-5). First pitch is slated for 3:00 PM from Kiwanis Oval