CALDWELL, N.J.- On Saturday, Mar. 20, the Queens College Baseball team returned to competition in winning fashion as they defeated the Caldwell University Cougars 7-4 in game one before dropping the nightcap 7-6. For the second year in a row, the Knights have won their season opener on the road. 
 
Game one: Queens College 7, Caldwell 4

The season opener saw eight Knights making their debut in Navy and Grey. With two out in the top of the first inning, freshman Andrew Smith (Hampton Bays, N.Y.) collected his first career hit in his first at-bat as he singled to center field off Cougars starter Jack Anderson. But the Knights will unable to drive him home as the inning ended in a fielder's choice. 
 
Making his first career start on the mound, sophomore lefty Liam Pulsipher (East Moriches, N.Y.) started the bottom half with an out as he got Frank Lehmann to ground out to junior shortstop Corey Tingo (Selden, N.Y.). Next at-bat Luis Rullan singled to right field before advancing to second on a wild pitch. Pulsipher's first-inning started rocky as he hit Jack Zosulis to put runners on first and second. The Cougars would get the first run of the game as Tavis Brunson hit into a fielder's choice to score Rullan from second. After allowing another single, Pulsipher got Jalen March looking on a pitch to end the inning. 
 
Anderson started the second inning striking two Knights in a row before freshman Reed Hoskins (Freeport, N.Y.) spoiled the inning with a single to right field. Hoskins advanced to second on a wild pitch as freshman Evan Christopher (North Babylon N.Y.) worked a two-out walk. After a fielding obstruction put runners on the corners, freshman Jordan Ramlogan (Hicksville, N.Y.) was unable to bring in the tying run with a groundout to third. 
 
After a shaky start, Pulsipher settled in as he limited the Cougars to just two hits in his next four innings as the Knights searched for offense. In the top of the fourth, freshman Nick Barreiros (Seaford, N.Y.) battled his way to a walk before advancing to second a passed ball. Next at-bat Tingo flew out to center field allowing Barreiros to advance to third. After Cougars reliever Andres Rodriquez hit the next two batters to load the bases, Christopher knotted the game 1-1 with a single to shortstop as the Cougars were unable to make a play. With the bases loaded, freshman Colin Diez (Levittown, N.Y.) blasted a three RBI triple to right field to clear the bases giving the Knights a 4-1 lead. Smith would add another single to his tally bringing home Diez to increase the lead to 5-1. 
 
Following two errors by the Cougars, the Knights would add insurance runs in the top of the sixth to help their pitching defend the 7-1 score line. After pitching five innings, Pulsipher saw his day come to an end as freshman righty John Dougherty (Kings Park, N.Y.) relived the lefty in the bottom half of the inning. Dougherty quickly went to work as he struck out the first two batters he faced. Following an error at second base to extend the inning, Michael Lazzaro worked a two-out walk to put runners on first and second. Unfazed with runners on the bases, Dougherty struck out Lehmann for his third strikeout of the inning. 
 
Errors continued to hurt as the Cougars would cut into the Knights lead in the home half of the inning. Sophomore lefty Dean Fazah (Queens, N.Y.) made his first appearance out of the bullpen to close out the game. With the Cougars down to their last three outs, Brunson led off the bottom of the ninth with a solo shot to left field as the Knights lead was cut down to 7-4. After an error put a runner on base, Fazah continued to work as he struck out March, before inducing Noah Putney to fly out to Smith in right field. Fazah struck out Elias Negron ensuring the Knights opened their 2021 schedule with a win.
 
The game one win extended the Knights winning streak over the Cougars to ten games dating back to March 22, 2015. Pulsipher (1-0) picked up his first career win for the Knights pitching 5.0 innings allowing four hits, one earned run, and striking out four cougars. Dougherty and Fazah pitched two innings in relief each as they struck out a combined eight batters. 
 
Diez (2-4 AB | 3 RBIs | R | BB) and Smith (2-5 AB | 2 RBIs) led the offense as the Knights racked up six on the hits on the day with Hoskins (1-4 AB | R) and Ramlogan (1-3 AB | RBI | 2 R | BB) contributing to the offense.
 
Game Two: Queens College 6, Caldwell 7
 
Queens saw their 10-game win streak against Caldwell come to end as the Cougars took advantage of two errors in the seventh inning.
 
The Knights put pressure on Cougars game two starter Jerry Gamone early on as Diez was hit by a pitch. After Diez stole second to extend his perfect stolen base streak, freshman Brad Sakellarides (East Moriches, N.Y.) worked a walk to put runners on first and second. Smith (1-2 AB | 2B) grounded into a double play, while Diez advanced to third. With two-out, Hoskins (1-3 AB | RBI | R) singled to center field to give the Knights an early 1-0 lead. 
 
With a 1-0 lead, junior righty Rob Backus (Merrick, N.Y.) starting in his eighth game of his career for the Knights wasted no time settling in. Working through two quick innings, the Merrick native struck out three batters as the Cougars were unable to put metal to the leather. The Knights would help with their ace in the top half of the third as they added three more runs. With the Cougars hitting two batters and walking another, freshman Mike Tagliarini (Brooklyn, N.Y.) doubled the advantage with a sacrifice fly to center field. Next batter freshman Teovaldo Estevez (Bronx, N.Y.) (1-2 AB | 2 RBI | 3B | BB) would clear the bases with a two-RBI triple to left field as the Knights went up 4-0. 
 
After starting the third inning with a walk, Backus got the next batter swinging. But the Cougars would cut the lead into half as they singled back-to-back before a groundout would bring the score to 4-2. Backus ended the inning with his fifth strikeout of the day to keep the Cougars at bay.
 
Smith continued his stellar start with a two-out double to right field but the Knights were unable to bring home the Southampton product as Hoskins struck out swinging. Holding a 4-2 lead, Backus (ND, 4.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 8 K) ended his day with three strikeouts in the fourth inning as he showed no sign of rust. 
 
Looking for the doubleheader sweep, the Knights would increase their advantage to 6-2 after the top of the sixth inning. Down to their last six outs, the Cougars had other ideas as they would go onto spoil Backus's stellar start. After ending the bottom half of the sixth inning with a strikeout, freshman Jordan Sanabria (Woodside, N.Y.) (0-1, 0.1 IP, 2 H, ER, 3 R, K) started the seventh looking to clinch the game for the Knights. But the Knights fielding errors would have the final say as they were forced to split Saturday's doubleheader dropping game two 7-6. 
 
UP NEXT: The Knights (1-1) open East Coast Conference play on Friday, Mar. 26 as they travel to Bridgeport, Conn with a matchup against the University of Bridgeport Purple Knights. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. 

___________________________________________________________________________________________________
For the latest news on Queens College Athletics, follow the Knights at queensknights.com or via social media on Facebook (Queens College Athletics), Twitter (@QCKnights), and Instagram (qcknightsny).