FLUSHING, N.Y. – On a day where mother nature twisted and turned with consistent passing showers and high crazy winds, the Queens College baseball rallied back in one of the wildest finish Friday afternoon at Hennekens Stadium. 
 
Down to their last three outs and trialing 14-11, the Knights used timely hitting to defeat the nationally ranked #19 St. Thomas Aquinas College Spartans, 15-14 in game one of the three-game series in East Coast Conference (ECC) play. 
 
For the first time since the 2017 season, the Knights defeated a nationally ranked team when they knocked off #12 Franklin Pierce University on February 24, 20217 in the 5-3 win.
 
With the win, the Knights improved to 11-8 overall, 9-7 in ECC action, while the Spartans moved to 17-3 overall, 11-3 in conference play. 
 
With the comeback 15-14 win, head coach Chris Reardon '98 moved to the top of the Queens College all-time wins list with 119 wins in the Division II era. 
 
In one of the highest combined offensive games of the season, both sides combined for 30 hits and 29 runs as a total of 12 pitchers took the mound trying to the offense at bay. 
 
While the Spartans used five long balls to keep them in the game, the Knights consistently found the gaps as they tallied a season-high 18 hits with 12 singles, four doubles, and two triples to score their runs. 
 
All nine starters and one pinch hitter tallied in hits for the Knights with the freshmen trio of Colin Diez (Levittown, N.Y.) (3-4, 3R, RBI, 2BB, 3SB), Brad Sakellarides (East Moriches, N.Y.) (3-5 AB, 2-2B, R, 2RBI, BB) and Teovaldo Estevez (Bronx, N.Y.) (3-5 AB, R, 2RBI, SB) led the offense with three hits apiece. 
 
While the sophomore duo of Liam Pulsipher (East Moriches, N.Y.) (2-5 AB, 2-3B, 3R, 4RBI, BB) who made his first career start in the batting order and playing center field, and Jayson Rodopoulos (Scarsdale, N.Y) (2-5 AB, 2B, 3RBI, SB) drove in a combined seven runs. 
 
The momentum of the game swung back and forth as the first six innings of play produced 25 runs. The Knights led 6-1 after two complete innings of play but the Spartans unwilling to go away cut the lead down to 6-5 in the top of the third inning. 
 
The home side responded in the bottom of the fourth inning as they used five hits to score five runs. With one out, Pulsipher tallied his first hit and triple of the season down the right-field line before scoring on the throw to give the Knights a 7-5 advantage. After freshman Reed Hoskins (Freeport, N.Y.) (1-3 AB, 2R, RBI, 3BB) worked a seven-pitch walk, Sakellarides doubled through the left side to drive home Hoskins putting the Knights up 8-5. Next batter Rodopoulos responded with a double of his own to left field bringing home Sakellarides as the home side went up 9-5. After Estevez singled through the left side advancing Rodopoulos to third, Rodopoulos would score on a wild pitch as the Knights doubled their advantage to 10-5. The Knights would lead 11-5 after the bottom of the fourth as junior Corey Tingo (Selden, N.Y.) (1-4 AB, RBI) singled to left center scoring Estevez from second. 
 
But the Spartans responded with eight hits in the next two innings scoring nine runs as they reclaimed a 14-11 advantage. Relievers Dimitri Papazoglou (Bellerose, N.Y.) (1.0 IP, BB, 2K) and freshman Jordan Sanabria (Woodside, N.Y.) (W, 1-1, 2.0 IP, BB, 2K) kept the Spartans hitless in the final top three innings of play as the Knights offense tried to rally back in the game. 
 
The Knights who were 0-12 coming to bat in the bottom of the ninth inning, 0-4 trailing after the eighth inning on the season kept their composure as they rallied around three hits to complete the wild comeback. 
 
Down to their last three outs and trailing 14-11, freshman Nick Burke (North Babylon, N.Y.) (1-5 AB, R) who was held hitless on the day picked the perfect time to find his first hit of the contest as he singled through the right side to kick the start rally. Reardon turned to freshman Daniel Deutsch (Northport, N.Y.) (1-1 AB, R) who sported a .500 batting average with 1-2 AB, double as a pinch hitter on the season singled to left-center on the second pitch to put two runners on base. Diez worked a five-pitch walk to load the bases bringing the East Moriches native Pulsipher to bat.
 
With no outs and bases loaded, Pulsipher wasted no time knotting the game as he laced the first pitch for his second triple of the game down the right field to clear the bases. With the monument of the game swung the Knights away and still no outs, the Spartans intentionally walked the dangerous duo of Hoskins and Sakellarides to once again load the bases.
 
With the Knights dugout ready to erupt as they were staring a completing a three-run deficit to win the game and the Scarsdale native Rodopoulos up in the batter box with the bases loaded. Rodopoulos looked at the first pitch go for a ball but would deliver the winning run in the next pitch with a sacrifice fly out to center field as Pulsipher plated home from third to complete the rally as the Knights stunned the #19 Spartans in a 15-14 comeback win. 
 
Dating back to the 2019 season, the Knights have defeated the Spartans three games in a row, including rallying back in back-to-back games when they cut a six-run deficit to defeat the Spartans 8-7 back on April 29, 2019, at Hennekens Stadium. 
 
UP NEXT: The Knights take a four-game winning streak on the road to Sparkill, N.Y. for a Saturday doubleheader against the Spartans to conclude the three-game ECC series. Game two of the series is slated for a noon start.
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