GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – On a day when temperatures were nearly freezing, the Queens College baseball team returned to non-conference action against the Panthers of Adelphi University Tuesday afternoon.
However, the Knights would drop an 8-6 score at Bonomo Memorial Field as the offense left 10 runners on base. Reigning East Coast Conference Player of the Week senior
Louis Antos (West Islip, N.Y) (3-5 AB, 2RBI) and freshman
Marc Cisco (Long Island City, N.Y.) (2-4 Ab, R, HR, RBI, BB) led the offense with multi-hit performances as the Knights tallied 10 hits on the afternoon.
It was a shaky start for the Knights as they found themselves trailing 4-0 after one complete inning of play. Queens would respond right away as sophomore
Colin Diez (Levittown, N.Y.) (1-4 AB, R, BB) singled up the field with one out. The Knights would cut into the deficit as sophomore
Reed Hoskins (Freeport, N.Y.) (1-3 AB, 2B, R, RBI, 2BB) drove home Diez from first with his first double of the season to center field. But the Knights would leave the bases load as the Panthers worked out of trouble to end the inning maintaining a 4-1 lead.
But just as the Knights had cut into the deficit, the Panthers responded with two runs of their own to extend their lead to 6-1 after two innings.
In the top of the third, Cisco cut the lead down to 6-2 with his first home run of the season to right-center. Antos would keep the inning going with a single up the middle before advancing to second on a wild pitch. Diez looked to have cut into the lead further but a timely catch by the Panthers' third basemen would get Diez to line out before the home side got the final out with a fly out to left-center.
The Knights rallied with two out in the fourth inning as the visitors earned a walk before Cisco tallied his fifth multi-hit game of the season with a single to center field to keep the inning going. Antos cut the deficit down to 6-3 with a RBI single up the middle.
The Panthers extended their advantage to 7-3 on a sac fly in the fifth frame. But the Knights quickly responded in the next inning as senior
Corey Tingo (Selden, N.Y.) (1-2 AB, BB) singled to left field before advancing to second base as the Panthers got the second out of the sixth inning. Tingo would be replaced by freshman
Joe Leone (Bethpage, N.Y.) who came in to pinch run for the senior. Leone would steal third base before scoring a throwing error by the Panthers catcher as the Knights got the score down to 7-4.
But for each run the Knights would score, the Panthers had a response as they tacked on their eighth run of the game in the bottom of the seventh to lead 8-4 as the Knights were down to their final six outs of the game.
Queens would not go away without a fight as they responded in the next frame. With two out, Leone would reach on base on a fielding error before Queens loaded the bases earning back-to-back walks bringing up the hot bat of Antos.
Antos would tally his second three-hit and second multi-RBI game of the season with a single as the Panthers were unable to get final out of the game bringing Queens within three, 8-5.
After the Knights worked out of a jam and kept the score at 8-5 to end the eighth inning of the game, Queens needed three runs to send the game into the bottom of the ninth.
Diez would start the final inning earning a walk before the Panthers got the fielder's choice at second base for the first out. Sophomore
Nick Barreiros (Seaford, N.Y.) (1-4 AB) would get hit by a pitch putting runners on second and first before freshman
Juan De La Rosa (Dominican Republic) (1-3 AB) loaded the bases with a single to right field.
Sophomore
Teovaldo Estevez (Bronx, N.Y.) made his second appearance of the season in a pinch-hit situation and delivered with a sac fly to center field to bring the Knights within two, 8-6.
With two on and the tying run at first, the Panthers would get the last out of the inning as freshman
Dennis Lynch (Seaford, N.Y.) struck out looking as Adelphi held on for an 8-6 non-conference win over the Knights.
UP NEXT: Head coach
Chris Reardon and the Knights continue non-conference action as they return to Flushing opening a five-game homestand on Thursday (Mar. 31) afternoon against the visiting Cougars of Caldwell University. The first pitch is set for 3:00 p.m.
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