UNIONDALE, N.Y. – East Coast Conference play continued in Uniondale as the Queens College baseball team matched up against nationally-ranked #22 Molloy College Lions to conclude their three-game series at Mitchel Field with a Saturday afternoon doubleheader.
But the Knights would quickly find themselves in early holes and were unable to recover as they dropped their first ECC series of the season falling 17-7 in game one before the Lions rallied back in game two to take the series 3-0 with a 10-4 victory.
Despite the series loss, the Knights have clinched their third straight ECC Postseason spot with other results around the league. Queens will match up against Mercy College Mavericks beginning on Friday (May. 6) in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. before concluding the series in Flushing with a Saturday (May. 7) afternoon doubleheader to determine the #2 and #3 seed for the Championship Tournament.
With the losses, the Knights move to 21-14 overall, 13-5 in ECC play, while the Lions improved to 31-11 overall, 16-2 in conference play.
In game one, the Knights tallied five hits led by freshman
Marc Cisco (Long Island City, N.Y.) (1-4 AB, 2RBI), freshman
Juan De La Rosa (Dominican Republic) (1-3 AB, 3B, R), and sophomore
Andrew Smith (Hampton Bays, N.Y.) (1-4 AB, HR, 2RBI, R).
In game two, Queens' offense tallied 10 hits led by multi-hit performances from junior
Jayson Rodopoulos (Scarsdale, N.Y.) (2-4 AB, R), senior
Louis Antos (West Islip, N.Y) (2-3 AB, 2B, R, BB), freshman
Matt Filip (2-3 AB, RBI). While Cisco
(1-4 AB, 2RBI, R) tallied back-to-back multi-RBI performances with his sixth home run of the season.
Doubleheader Highlights
- Smith tallied his second home run of the season in the top of the fourth.
- Queens would score three runs in the top of the seventh before knocking in two runs in the top of the ninth.
- The Knights left nine runners on base in the game one loss.
- In game two, Cisco gave the Knights a 2-0 lead with his sixth home of the season, but Queens leave the bases loaded as they were unable to tack on more runs.
- The Lions would respond with three runs in the first and second inning to take a 6-2 lead.
- Filip tallied a RBI single in the third to bring Queens within 6-3.
- In the top of the fourth, Rosa connected on his second home run of the series to get the Knights within two, 6-4.
- But the Lions would tally four runs in the fifth to seal the sweep.
- The Knights left seven runners on base in game two.
UP NEXT: Head coach
Chris Reardon and the Knights now shift their attention to the final week of the regular season beginning with a non-conference matchup on Tuesday (May. 3) in Flushing against Goldey-Beacom University. The first pitch is set for 3:00 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), Queens College Baseball
(@QC_Baseball)and Instagram
(qcknightsny), QC Baseball
(QC baseball)
