PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (Feb. 16, 2020) - Strong offense and excellent starting pitching were the two keys to success for the Queens College baseball team as the Knights opened the 2020 season on Sunday (Feb. 16) with a doubleheader sweep of the University of the Sciences at Father Michael Judge Field in Philadelphia.

Queens won the first contest by a 7-2 score before rolling to an 11-2 romp against USciences in the second game of the day.

Game One: Queens 7, USciences 2
The opening game of the new spring campaign for both sides was a quiet one through the first two innings as starting pitchers Dylan Hughes and John McCrane allowed just one hit apiece. The Knights struck first in the third inning on a two-out rally as Matt Encizo laced a single to left field and then advanced to second on a wild pitch from McCrane. Eric Roubal was the benefactor of Encizo's heads-up base-running as the senior cracked a single to left as well, scoring the freshman to put QC ahead by a 1-0 score. Another run in the fourth inning came on yet another two-out rally as the former LIU Post brotherhood of Ryan Dalton and Sal Geraci combined for the insurance marker. Geraci drew a one-out walk and advanced to second on a grounder to first base, allowing Dalton to smack a base hit to center and score the Knights' second run of the afternoon.

The Devils would bring in a run in the bottom of the fifth on a two-out double by Nate Steele, but Hughes struck out Joe Duffy to end the threat and keep Queens ahead. The visiting side broke the game open in the top of the sixth as Jon Strauss roped a two-run triple to right-center field, scoring Dalton and Joe O'Rourke to put the Knights ahead by a 4-2 margin. Three more runs came around in the eighth inning on a two-run double from Encizo and an RBI single by Roubal.

Hughes picked up the win for Queens in the opening contest, yielding just one run on three hits over five innings with four strikeouts. Evan Christopher earned his first career save and had the same line as Hughes over his four-inning relief stint. Queens had eleven hits---two apiece coming from Dalton, Encizo, Roubal and Strauss---in the victory.

Game Two: Queens 11, USciences 2
In the second contest, a seven-inning affair between the Knights and the Devils, Rob Backus pitched an emphatic four innings with five strikeouts and was buoyed by a five-run third inning. The Knights' biggest blow of the afternoon came at the end of that frame as Anthony Scotti crushed a Chris Brown offering over the left-field wall for a three-run home run to give the Knights a 5-0 lead. The Knights tacked on a run in each of the next three innings before exploding for a three-run frame in the seventh to stamp the victory onto the scoreboard.

Roubal and Strauss added two hits in the proverbial nightcap as well, with the latter driving in three runs on the day. Reed Hoskins recorded his first career RBI in the seventh inning on a sacrifice fly and Louis Antos also drove in a run to lead Queens to the win.

Queens continues their season this weekend with a four-game set against Shippensburg University at Diamond Nation in Flemington, N.J. The Knights and Raiders will face off twice on Saturday (Feb. 22) and twice on Sunday (Feb. 23).