FLUSHING, N.Y. – It was a game that lasted four hours as the Queens College baseball team searched for one final hit to put away the visitors Goldey-Beacom College Lightning Tuesday afternoon in non-conference action. But It would take extras for the Knights to come away victorious as freshman
Matt Filip (2-5 AB, RBI, BB) delivered the final blow to defeat the Lightning at Hennkens Stadium.
With the win, the Knights improved to 22-14 overall, while the Lightning moved to 27-23 overall on the season.
The offense tallied seven hits on the day led by Filip knocking in his 12
th multi-hit game with the biggest hit coming in extras, while sophomore
Colin Diez (Levittown, N.Y.) (2-4 AB, R, BB) knocked in his ninth multi-hit game of the season. Freshman
Marc Cisco (Long Island City, N.Y.) (1-1 AB, HR, 2R, 4BB) had a day to remember as the rookie tallied his seventh home run of the season and 12
th multi-RBI game of the season with three RBIs and earned a season-high four walks on the season. As a team, the Knights earned 11 walks on the season for the third time this season.
While the pitching staff of sophomore
Jordan Sanabria (Woodside, N.Y.) (5.0 IP, 4H, 3ER, 2BB, 6K), senior
Dylan Hughes (Merrick, N.Y.) (3.1 IP, 2H, 2BB, 4K), senior
Louis Antos (West Islip, N.Y) (0.1 IP, 2H, BB) and senior
Stephen Castro (Bayside, N.Y.) (W, 1-0, 1.1 IP, 4K) combined for 14 strikeouts on the day. Castro picked up his first win of the season with a career-high four strikeouts.
After Sanabria got out of a two out- single with a strikeout, Queens went to work right away as junior
Jayson Rodopoulos (Scarsdale, N.Y.) (1-5 AB, 2R, BB) reached on a base on a fielding error but Cisco wasted no time in looking at pitches as he blasted his third opposite home run of the season to right-center field and seventh overall of the season to give the Knights a 2-0 lead.
After Sanabria worked a clean second inning, the Knight would extend their advantage to 3-0 in the home half of the second. With one out, sophomore
Andrew Smith (Hampton Bays, N.Y.) (1-4 AB, R) singled through the right side before advancing to second on a wild pitch. After a fielding error put sophomore
Nick Barreiros (Seaford, N.Y.) on first base, Smith would capitalize to advance to third. Smith would put the Knights up 3-0 as he scored on a passed ball.
But the Lightning began their rally in the next frame on two hits to trim the Knights' lead down to 3-2 before Sanabria struck out the last batter to minimize the damage.
In the home half of the third and fourth, the Knights left five runners on base as they were unable to extend their lead.
A sac fly in the top of the fifth would knot the game 3-3 as the Lightning refused to go away. Filip and Diez would begin the fifth with back-to-back singles but once again the Lighting found a way to get out of the inning unscathed.
Hughes would replace Sanabria on the mound with the game tied 3-3 and retired the side in order in the sixth.
After leaving 10 runners on base for the first sixth innings of play, Diez began the home half of the seventh with his second hit of the afternoon with a single to right-center before stealing second. A wild pitch would advance the left-fielder to third before sophomore
Reed Hoskins (Freeport, N.Y.) delivered with a sac fly out to center field to put the Knights up 4-3.
The Lightning began the eighth with a double to right-center but Hughes would leave the runner stranded on second as he retired the next three batters in order.
Queens would double their advantage to 6-3 as they scored on a wild pitch and a sac fly from Cisco but would leave two runners stranded on base.
With a 6-3 lead to begin the ninth, Hughes returned to close out the game and was in line to pick up his third win of the season but a fielding error to begin the inning would come back to haunt the Knights. The Lightning would rally back to tie the game with three singles before Castro struck out the last batter to leave two runners stranded on base.
Smith began the ninth getting hit by a pitch before advancing to second on a wild pitch but the visitors would take the game into extra as they retired the next three batters in a row.
Playing their second extra-inning game of the season, Castro worked a clean inning as he struck out the side in order to bring the heart of the Knights lineup to bat in the bottom of the tenth.
Cisco earned his fourth walk of the game as the Lightning failed to retire the rookie all day before Antos got hit by a pitch to put runners on a second and first. With no outs and the winning run at second, Filip blasted the third pitch of his at-bat to right field to drive home Cisco to give the Knights their 22
nd overall win of the season.
UP NEXT: Head coach
Chris Reardon and the Knights conclude non-conference play against Wilmington University Wildcats Wednesday (May. 4) afternoon at Hennekens Stadium. The first pitch is set for 3:00 p.m.
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