FLUSHING, N.Y. – Following a run feast in Dobbs Ferry on Friday, the run-scoring would flow over into Saturday's doubleheader in Flushing as the Queens College baseball team welcomed the Mavericks of Mercy University to Hennekens Stadium to conclude the four-game East Coast Conference series.
With the series tied at 1-1 after Friday's DH saw a combined 71 hits and 50 runs scored, game three of the series would see 31 runs scored on 29 hits. The Knights offense outhit the Mavericks 15-14 as they were led by graduate student center fielder
Phillip Krpata (Farmingdale, N.Y.) (3-6 AB, 2 2B, 3RBI, 2R), sophomore right fielder
Jorsixt Jimenez (Flushing, N.Y) (3-5 AB, 2 2B, 2RBI, R, BB), junior third baseman
Robert Jacobsen (Temecula, CA) (2-5 AB, 2RBI, 2R, BB), redshirt junior shortstop
Francis Segarra (Bronxville, N.Y) (2-5 AB, RBI, 2R) and freshman outfielder
Frank Romano (West Islip, N.Y.) (2-3 AB, 2B, 3RBI, 2R, BB) as they combined for 12 hits, 11 RBI, and nine runs scored.
While the trio of junior first baseman
Matt Filip (Maspeth, N.Y.) (1-4 AB, 2R), sophomore
Joey Patane (Commack, N.Y) (1-2 AB, HR, 2RBI, 3BB, 3R) and junior third baseman
Elquin Rodriguez (Washington Heights, N.Y.) (1-4 AB, 3RBI, R, BB) combined for three hits, five RBI, and six runs scored as Queens recorded 16 runs on the day.
In a series where no pitcher was spared rookie righty
Peter Nenadich III (Bayside, N.Y.) (4.2 IP, 8H, 8ER, 5BB), junior lefty
Nate Rodriguez (Hamilton, N.J.) (W, 2-0 1.1 IP, 2H, 2ER, 2BB), freshman lefty
Vinay Patel (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) (1.2 IP, 4H, 5ER, BB) and junior righty
Evan Christopher (North Babylon, N.Y.) (S, 2 1.1 IP, K) would hold off another Mavericks rally as Rodriguez earned his second win of the year before Christopher shut the door on the Mavericks to earn his second save of the year as Queens earned a 16-15 game three victory.
While in the nightcap both teams were limited to less than 10 hits for the first time in four games as they combined for 16 hits with the Knights being held by Krpata
(2-3 AB, 2B, 2R, 2BB), Jimenez
(2-2 AB, 2B, 3RBI, 2R, 3BB), Jacobsen
(1-3 AB, 2B, 3R, 2BB), Filip
(1-4 AB, HR, 3RBI, R, BB), Patane
(1-2 AB, 2B, 2RBI, 2BB), Romano
(1-2 AB, R, 2BB) and Segarra
(0-3 AB, R, 2BB) as they combined for eight hits, eight RBI and 10 runs scored.
On the mound righty
Michael Vilardi (Massapequa, N.Y.) (W, 4-0 7.0 IP, 8H, 4ER, BB, 3K) was a man show as the rookie led the way with his first complete game of the year as he held the very hots bats of the Mavericks to eight hits, four runs scored to go with three strikeouts to earn his team-leading fourth victory of the year as Queens clinched the series with a 10-4 game four victory and complete the Saturday afternoon sweep.
The Massapequa native becomes the first freshman to throw a complete game victory in ECC play since May 7, 2017, when Nick Morena pitched a complete game victory over the University of Bridgeport in the Knights 8-2 victory.
With the DH sweep the Knights improved to 15-10 overall and 6-2 in ECC play as they earned their second straight ECC series of the year. For the second time in three years, Queens earned an ECC series victory over the Mavericks.
GAME THREE RECAP (QUEENS 16, MERCY 15)
Game three of the series started with the Mavericks taking a 4-0 lead as they rallied with two outs using three singles, a home run, and three walks to their advantage.
Queens would be held off the scoreboard until the bottom of the third as they sent 12 batters to the plate. As the Mavericks got the first batter to ground out, Queens would record four straight hits to open the scoring to cut their deficit down to 4-2. With still only one out, a hit by pitch, single, and back-to-back walks would give the Knights a slim lead of 5-4.
As the Mavericks got the 10
th batter of the inning to fly out, a two-RBI single from rookie Romano would put the Knights up 7-4 before the Mavericks got out of the inning.
It would be a scoreless fourth inning for both teams before the Mavericks sent nine batters to the plate to retake the lead to the score of 8-7 following the conclusion of the top of the fifth.
Sophomore Patane kept his bat hot as he belted his second home of the series with a solo shot to left field as the Knights had quickly tied the game at 8-8.
But the tie would not remain for long as Mercy responded in the top of the sixth as they used a walk before back-to-back singles saw them take a 10-8 advantage.
But the lefty Rodriguez would keep the damage at two runs before Queens responded in the home frame.
The Knights would send 12 batters to the plate as they rallied with two outs.
Filip kept the inning going with a single to right field before Segarra notched a single up the middle but a fielding error in the center field would advance both runners into scoring position.
As Patane earned a walk, the third baseman Rodriguez would tie the game with a two-RBI single up the middle before the Knights earned back-to-back walks including a RBI walk from Romano to put the Knights 11-10.
Jacobsen would extend the lead to 12-10 before Krpata batting for the second time in the inning cleared the bases with a three-RBI double to left center field as the Knights took a 15-10 lead.
Jimenez would close out the scoring for Queens with a RBI double down the left field line as the Knights took a six-run lead of 16-10 heading into the seventh inning of play.
However, the Mavericks would not go away quietly as they cut the Knights lead down to 16-12 on a two-run shot to left field.
In the top of the eighth, a three-RBI double to right center field would see the Mavericks get within one run, 16-15 before Patel got the second out.
With two outs and the tying run at second base, the Knights turned Christopher to close out the game. The righty would get the final out of the eighth inning to keep the one-run lead intact.
As the Mavericks retired Queens in order in the bottom of the eighth, Christopher would shut out the visitors in the ninth to earn his second save of the year and put Queens in the driver's seat to clinch the conference series in the nightcap.
GAME FOUR RECAP (QUEENS 10, MERCY 4)
Leading 2-1 in the series and looking to clinch their second ECC series of the year, Queens turned to Vilardi in the nightcap.
The rookie would work a quick 1-2-3 inning on eight pitches to retire the Mavericks in the top of the first before his offense went to work.
Jacobsen began the home frame with a double down the left field line before Krpata worked a six-pitch walk. With two on base and no outs, Jimenez would put the Knights up 1-0 with a RBI double to right center as Jacobsen scored from second.
As Filip worked a one-out walk to load the bases, the Mavericks would get the first out of the inning before Patane battled in a seven-pitch at-bat to draw a RBI walk as the Knights doubled their advantage to 2-0.
But the Mavericks would avoid further trouble as they got the final two outs of the inning.
Just as Queens scored, the Mavericks were not far behind as they opened the inning with a solo shot to left field. As a fielding error put a runner on first base, Vilardi would induce a 4-6-3 double play to end the scoring threat before getting the fourth batter of the inning to fly out in center field.
For every run the Mavericks would score, the Knights would continue to answer back. Seeing their advantage cut down to 2-1, Romano and Jacobsen opened the home frame of the third earning back-to-back walks before advancing to third and second on a wild pitch.
As the Mavericks got the first out, Romano would capitalize on a wild pitch to put the Knights 3-1 before Jimenez earned a four-pitch walk. With runners on the corner and Filip starring at a 0-2 count the Maspeth native would belt his third home run of the series with a three-RBI blast to left field as Queens extended their advantage to 6-1 following three complete innings of play.
In the top of the third Vilardi would run into his first jam of the day. The rookie opened the frame with an out to left field before a hit by pitch and single put runners on second and first base. As the righty got the fourth batter of the inning to fly out to center field, he would walk the next batter to load the bases. With the Mavericks threatening to cut into the home side lead, Vilardi would end the inning as he got the sixth batter of the inning to fly out to center field to keep the 6-1 lead intact.
The Knights would tack on two more runs in the home half of the third on a two-RBI double from Jimenez to take an 8-1 lead to give Vilardi more breathing room.
It would be a scoreless fourth inning for both sides before the Mavericks got a run in the top of the fifth to cut the scoreline down to 8-2.
But the Knights would respond with two more runs in the bottom of the fifth using a RBI double from Patane before a scoring error scored the 10
th run of the game for Queens as the Knights took an eight-run lead of 10-2.
In the top of the sixth, the Mavericks would record three straight hits to cut the lead down to 10-3 before a sac fly brought in the fourth run for the visitors. But Vilardi would continue to dig deep as he retired the next two batters in a row to keep the scoreline at 10-4.
Pitching on four days rest Vilardi would return for the seventh and final inning of the game looking to notch his first complete game of his young career and earn his fourth win of the year.
The rookie would deliver as he retired the Mavericks in order to earn his second ECC victory in five days and give the Knights the series-clinching victory as Queens earned the Saturday afternoon doubleheader sweep to the final score of 10-4 and improved to 6-2 in conference play.
Notable:
Over the four-game series against the Mavericks, a total of 95 runs were scored on 118 hits with runs being scored in every inning possible.
Next Pitch
The Knights return to non-conference play on Tuesday (Apr. 2) afternoon as they welcome the Cougars of Caldwell University to town. First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m.
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