FLUSHING, N.Y. – Hosting their first home game at Hennekens Stadium Wednesday afternoon the Queens College baseball team welcomed the Lightning of Goldey Beacom College to town in non-conference play.
In the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association
(NCBWA) East Regional Poll, the Knights received votes for the second time in three weeks, while the Lightning checked in at #4 in the region.
After earning a victory over RV Adelphi University Tuesday afternoon, head coach
Chris Reardon and the Knights matched up against their second straight regionally ranked foe of the week.
The Knights were outhit 13-7 with the duo of sophomore utility
Michael Vilardi (Massapequa, N.Y.) (2-5 AB) and senior second baseman
Robert Jacobsen (Temecula, Calif.) (2-4 AB 3B, HR, 2R) recording multi-hit games with four hits, one run driven in, and two runs scored, while the trio of sophomore utility
Jordan Babbo (Merrick, N.Y.) (1-1 AB), senior right fielder
Leo Alvarez (Oceanside, N.Y.) (1-3 AB, RBI, BB) and junior pinch hitter
Yoskar Guzman (Richmond Hill, N.Y.) (1-1 AB) combined for three hits and one run driven in.
Senior lefty
Robert Nunez (Manhattan, N.Y.) earned the start and would quickly be put under pressure as the visitors tallied two singles after Nunez retired the lead-off batter. But a throwing error off of a pick-off attempt would lead to the visitors taking a 1-0 lead after the top of the first inning of play.
The Knights would look to respond as with one out, Babbo tallied a shot to right field but the ball would fall short of going over the fence as the Knights had to settle for a long single before a walk gave Queens two runners on and one out. But the Lightning would retire the next two batters to keep their 1-0 lead intact.
As Nunez settled in to keep the visitors' offense at bay, Jacobsen in the bottom of the third inning would tie the game at 1-1 with his second home run of the year out to right field.
But the visitors would use three fielding errors to their advantage in the top of the fifth inning to take a 4-1 lead.
Goldey-Beacom would tack in three runs in the eighth and two in the ninth as the Knights offense was limited to five hits and one run over the final five innings of play to drop the non-conference contest to the score of 9-2 in their home opener.
NEXT PITCH
The Knights travel to West Chester, PA for a four-game series against nationally ranked #10
West Chester University of Pennsylvania Golden Rams from Friday, Mar. 14 to Saturday, Mar. 15. The first pitch is set for 1:00 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 (qcbaseball)
