FLUSHING, N.Y. – With the final week of the regular season concluded, head coach
Chris Reardon and the Queens College Baseball team are headed to the East Coast Conference Tournament for the fourth straight season.
The Knights have clinched the #3 seed as they get set for the Double Elimination Tournament which gets underway in Uniondale, N.Y. on Thursday (May. 11) afternoon to Saturday (May. 13) afternoon hosted by #1 seed and Regular Season Champions Molloy University Lions at Mitchel Field.
Queens finished the 2023 regular season with an overall record of 29-16 and 13-9 in East Coast Conference play marking the fourth straight year the Knights have finished a season with a plus .500 record during the regular season and in conference play.
Since the 2019 season, Queens has continued to improve their wins total from the previous season. Under Reardon, the last four years have seen the baseball program take their level of play to the next step, and have not looked back.
On Saturday (May. 6) afternoon with their sweep of Saint Thomas Aquinas College Spartans, the Knights tied the Single Season Program Record for Wins by earning their 28
th and 29
th win of the season.
The 29 wins ties the program record set during the 1998 season.
Queens College Knights (29-16 Overall Record, 13-9 East Coast Conference Record)
After earning their first playoff berth in 2019 after 21 years, Queens enters the ECC Tournament for the fourth straight year and is the only team in the tournament with the longest active streak since the 2019 season.
The Knights enter the playoff as the #3 seed and are looking to capture their first Conference Title since the 1998 season.
Last season, Queens advanced to the Championship game for the first time since the aforementioned season and were one hit away from winning it all.
The Knights will be looking right the ship from last year's heartbreaking loss beginning on Thursday (May. 11) afternoon as they match up against #2 seed Saint Thomas Aquinas College Spartans.
As a team, the Knights represent one of the dangerous batting lineups as they hold a batting average of .315 with 460 hits, 92 doubles, nine triples, 34 home runs, 283 RBI, 309 runs scored, and have earned 229 walks in 1459 at-bats.
The Knights will be led by 2022 All-American and ECC Player and Rookie of the Year sophomore
Marc Cisco (Long Island City, N.Y.) who is batting .356 with 48 hits, 10 doubles, two triples, four home runs, 24 RBI, a team-high 47 runs scored and six stolen bases on the year in 40 games played with 39 starts.
Cisco has 13 multi-hit games on the year with nine two-hit games, and four three-hit games to go with eight multi-RBI games.
After Cisco's freshman year, Reardon and the coaching staff have found another rookie in
Jorsixt Jimenez (Queens, N.Y.) who has taken the league by storm.
On the year, Jimenez has appeared in all 45 games, while earning 41 starts as he leads the team with a batting average of .382 with a team-high 60 hits, 13 doubles, one triple, six home runs, 38 runs, and a team-high 49 RBI.
The 49 RBI has tied the Freshman Single Season RBI Program record with Cisco. On the season he has earned four ECC Rookie of the Week honors.
Jimenez has 18 multi-hit games, tallying 11 two-hit games, three three-hit games, and four four-hit performances, and has recorded a team-high 13 multi-RBI games on the year.
In his first year in Flushing, senior
Anthony Fontana (Wantagh, N.Y.) has provided another big bat to the dangerous Knights lineup batting .376, with 50 hits, 12 doubles, one triple, six home runs, 28 runs, and 40 RBI
(second on the team).
Fontana has 16 multi-hit games, tallying 10 two-hit games, and six three-hit games while recording 10 multi-RBI games on the year.
While senior
Reed Hoskins (Freeport, N.Y.) is looking to end his Knights career on a high note and is having a spectacular final year of play. Hoskins is batting .319 with 43 hits, six doubles, one triple, five home runs, 26 runs scored, and 31 RBI.
The Freeport native became the first Knight to hit for the cycle in game two of the SCSU (Apr. 2) series going 5-5 AB, 2B, 3B, HR, 3RBI.
While rookie Jimenez might have stolen the show, rookie
Andrew Ramirez (Walnut, N.Y.) has fit in nicely in the lineup batting .319, with 37 hits, 10 doubles, one triple, one home run with 19 runs scored, and 20 RBI.
As the leadoff batter and the center fielder, senior
Jayson Rodopoulos (Scarsdale, N.Y.) continued where he left off last season batting .292 with 52 hits, 13 doubles, four home runs, 28 RBI, 41 runs scored, and a perfect 13-13 in stolen bases.
Rodopoulos is tied with Jimenez with 18 multi-hit games recording 15 two-hit games, two three-hit games, and one four-hit game with seven multi-RBI games on the year.
While on the mound, junior
Jordan Sanabria (Woodside, N.Y.) has earned 10 stars with 12 appearances and is tied for first with five wins on the season with one shutout and a complete game.
The junior has pitched a team-high 59.0 innings, allowing 53 hits, and 32 earned runs with a team-high 59 strikeouts.
Senior
Dean Fazah (Queens, N.Y.) has made nine starts in 11 appearances and is tied for first with five wins with Sanabria. Fazah has pitched 47.1 innings allowing 67 hits, and 31 earned runs with 17 strikeouts.
While senior
Liam Pulsipher (East Moriches, N.Y) and rookie
Christopher Naronis (Floral Park, N.Y.) have combined for eight wins pitching a total of 103.0 innings allowing 70 hits, 49 earned runs with 79 punchouts.
In the reliever role, seniors
Stephen Castro (Bayside, N.Y.) and
Johnnie Rodopoulos (Scarsdale, N.Y.) will be one of the first two options out of the bullpen to hold the opposing lineup down. The duo have combined for 28 appearances with three wins and have pitched a total of 71.1 innings, allowing 47 hits and 33 earned runs to go with 40 strikeouts.
In the closing role, junior
Danny Gargano (Middle Island, N.Y) has taken his play to another level leading the team and conference with nine saves and has earned two wins, having pitched a total of 26.2 innings allowing 24 hits, seven earned runs, to with 30 strikeouts in 14 appearances.
Nationally, Gargano is ranked sixth in Saves.
On day one of the tournament, the Knights will match up against the Spartans who have earned the #2 seed and finished the regular season with an overall record of 23-25 and 16-8 in conference play.
During the regular season, the Knights split the series 2-2 with the Spartans taking two victories on their home field before Queens defended their home turf with a Senior Day sweep.
On the other side of the bracket, the Lions clinched their third straight ECC Regular Season title and the #1 seed. Molloy finished the regular season with an overall record of 33-15 and 19-5 in conference play.
Queens went 1-3 during the regular season as they earned their first victory at Mitchel Field for the first time since the 2019 season as they ended a nine-game losing streak to their conference foe.
In the opening game of the tournament, the Lions will match up against #4 seed Mercy College Mavericks who finished the regular season with an overall record of 15-31 and 10-14 in conference play.
Queens split the regular season 2-2 with both sides winning a game on the road.
2023 ECC Baseball Championship hosted by Molloy University at Mitchel Field - Uniondale, N.Y.
Thursday, May 11
12:00 PM - No. 4 Mercy vs. No. 1 Molloy
3:00 PM - No. 3 Queens vs. No. 2 St. Thomas Aquinas
Friday, May 12
10:00 a.m. - Loser Game One vs. Loser Game Two
1:00 p.m. - Winner Game One vs. Winner Game Two
4:00 p.m. - Winner Game Three vs. Loser Game Four
Saturday, May 13
12:00 p.m. - Winner Game Four vs. Winner Game Five
If necessary - 30 minutes after the completion of Game Six
Live Stats:
https://molloylions.com/sidearmstats/baseball/summary
Live Stream:
All games during the championship will be broadcast live on the
ECC Network website and the ECC Network app on Apple and Android mobile devices and also on Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, and Roku OTT streaming devices. To read Twitter updates throughout the tournament, follow
@ECCSports. To see video highlights, follow
@ECCSportsNet on Twitter. Tournament recaps, live stats, box scores, and all other pertinent tournament information will also be available on www.eccsports.org at the tournament central web page.
For the latest news on Queens College Athletics, follow the Knights at
queensknights.com or via social media on Facebook
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(@QCKnights), Queens College Baseball
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