FLUSHING, N.Y. – After playing in dark cloudy conditions Friday afternoon, Saturday's sunny but chilly conditions were ideal as the Queens College baseball team completed their second East Coast Conference sweep of the season defeating the Lincoln University Lions Saturday afternoon.
The Knights' offense tallied a combined 23 hits for 24 runs to defeat the Lions 15-3 in game one before completing the sweep with a 9-4 nightcap victory.
With the win, Queens moved to 12-9 overall, 6-0 in ECC play, while the Lions moved to 4-23 overall, 0-6 in conference action.
The Knights extended their win streak to four games while earning their ninth straight win in conference play dating back to the 2021 season.
Queens improved to 10-0 against Lincoln in conference play and have outscored the Lions 131-31 in 10 games.
Saturday's doubleheader saw the Knights tally 23 hits with six doubles, a triple, and three home runs led by senior
Louis Antos (West Islip, N.Y) (6-8 AB, 2B, 2HR, 4RBI, 4R, BB) and rookies
Marc Cisco (Long Island City, N.Y.) (3-6 AB, 2HR, 4RBI, 4R, 2BB) and
Matt Filip (Maspeth, N.Y.) (3-7 AB, 2 2B, 3RBI, BB) on the afternoon.
While the pitching staff of senior
Rob Backus (Merrick, N.Y.) (W, 1-1, 5.0 IP, 2H, 2ER, 3BB, 8K) and sophomore
Danny Gargano (Middle Island, N.Y.) (4.0 IP, 3H, ER, 8K) led the way in the game one victory as they limited the offense to five hits, three runs and struck out a combined 16 batters on the day with Gargano notching a career-high eight strikeouts in relief.
After being shut out in game one, it was the Lions who struck first as they opened the scoring with their first home run of the season to lead 2-0 after the top of the second inning.
But the lead was short-lived as the Knights wasted no time in replying back. The offense would tally four hits to take a 6-2 lead after two complete innings.
As Backus settled down, Queens would tally nine runs through four innings to balloon their lead further. Gargano would relive Backus to open the sixth inning and never let up as he notched a career-high eight strikeouts in four innings of relief allowing three hits and one earn as Queens earned a 15-3 game two victory.
In the nightcap, the Lions' offense started to click as they tallied 11 hits but junior
Liam Pulsipher (East Moriches, N.Y.) (W, 1-4, 6.0 IP, 11H, 3ER, 2BB, 7K) and senior
Dylan Hughes (Merrick, N.Y.) (1.0 IP, 2BB, 2K) would limit Lions offense to complete the series sweep.
The Knights' offense continued their hot bats in game two as they opened the scoring in the home half of the first with a sac fly. With Pulsipher on the mound, Queens would quickly put the game out of reach in the second inning with five hits and six runs to lead 7-0 after two innings of play.
Led by Cisco's three-run home run and third home run of the series in the second inning, the Knights had more than enough runs to complete the series sweep. Queens would tack on additional runs in the fourth and fifth inning to complete the 2-0 Saturday afternoon for the Knights.
UP NEXT: Head coach
Chris Reardon and the Knights conclude the five-game homestand as they return to non-conference play on Wednesday (Apr. 6) afternoon against the Golden Falcons of Felician University. The first pitch is set for 3:00 P.M.
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