LINCOLN UNIVERSITY, Pa. (Apr. 6, 2019) - Ron Linsalato had four hits in one game and Jon Strauss had four hits in another as the Queens College baseball team overwhelmed Lincoln University on Saturday (Apr. 6) in an ECC doubleheader that saw the Knights win decisions by counts of 12-4 and 16-1. With the wins, Queens improves to an overall record of 15-11-1 with a .500 (5-5) mark in East Coast Conference competition.

Game One: Queens (NY) 12, Lincoln (Pa.) 4
The host Lions (1-22, 0-10 ECC) scratched an early run across in the bottom of the first inning as Malcolm Smith singled home an unearned run that had reached on an error to open the frame. Lincoln led 1-0 but Queens rallied to take the lead in the top of the third inning. Jesse Spellman led off the inning with a walk and would score on an RBI groundout by Strauss that evened the score. Linsalato singled in the next at-bat and he came all the way around to score on a run-scoring double off the bat of Louis Antos. Antos would later score on a fielding error to give QC a 3-1 lead going into the bottom of the third inning. Lincoln returned the favor with a run in the frame but Linsalato doubled home a run in the top of the fourth inning and would later score on a passed ball as Queens stretched the lead to a 5-2 margin. The Lions scored a run in the bottom of the fourth and the bottom of the fifth to cut the deficit to one run but then the Knights put the game away for good.

In the top of the sixth inning, Brian Watters struck out but reached first base on a passed ball. After Strauss reached on a fielding error and Linsalato laid down a perfect bunt up the third-base line, Antos drew a four-pitch walk to score Watters with the Knights' sixth run of the game. After two strikeouts, Matt Gutleber cleared the bases with a double that put Queens ahead by a 9-4 margin; he would score on a run-scoring hit by Ronmel Ocampo that brought QC's lead to a 10-4 advantage. Queens put home two more runs in the top of the seventh on a Linsalato double and a sacrifice fly from Joe O'Rourke to procure the final score.

Dennis Buckstein pitched eight strong innings for Queens in the win, striking out 13 batters while yielding just one earned run to his credit. Linsalato had four hits---including two doubles and two singles---while Antos, Gutleber and Ocampo each collected two hits in the victory for the Knights.

Game Two: Queens (NY) 16, Lincoln (Pa.) 1
The Knights took the early lead in the proverbial nightcap on a fielding error in the opening frame and extended their lead to a 2-0 margin in the second on an RBI double by Strauss. After Lincoln scored its only run of the contest in the bottom of the second, the Knights' offense went into cruise control. A run in the fourth inning was produced on a lead-off double by Watters followed by a run-scoring hit from Strauss. QC added two more runs in the top of the fifth inning as back-to-back hits by Eric Roubal and Gutleber cleared the way for a sacrifice fly off the bat of Jayson Rodopoulos. Watters would reach on a fielding error to score Gutleber and give the Knights a 5-1 lead. O'Rourke clobbered a run-scoring double in the next inning to put QC ahead by a 6-1 margin and then the floodgates opened in the seventh inning. Queens would collect nine runs in that frame---highlighted by a bases-clearing triple from Linsalato as well as run-scoring hits by Gutleber, O'Rourke and Strauss---with much of the damage coming before LU could record an out. 

Strauss had four hits in the nightcap for the Knights while Linsalato only had one hit with four runs batted in. The senior outfielder, however, was walked five times in the contest. Dylan Hughes picked up the win for QC, striking out seven batters in his six innings of work; Kevin Kochen, Adam Abreu and James McGee combined to pitch three innings of one-hit baseball in relief.

Queens will conclude its four-game series with Lincoln on Sunday (Apr. 7) with a doubleheader at LU Baseball Field beginning at 12 p.m.