UNIONDALE, N.Y. – East Coast Conference play opened Friday afternoon for the Queens College baseball team at Mitchel Field, as the Knights split a doubleheader with regionally ranked No. 5 Molloy University.
Queens dropped the opener 8-3 before bouncing back in game two behind a dominant complete-game shutout from junior right-hander
Michael Vilardi (Massapequa, N.Y.) to earn a 2-0 victory.
With the split, the Knights begin ECC play with a 1-1 mark.
Game One Recap
Queens totaled five hits in the series opener, led by a multi-hit performance from senior shortstop
Nick Piazza (Queens, N.Y.), who finished 2-for-4 at the plate. Rookie infielder
Justin Chong (Queens Village, N.Y.) went 1-for-4 with a triple and a run scored, while junior outfielder
Paul Fiene (Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) (1-1 AB, R) and rookie infielder
Joshua Angely (Upland, CA) (1-3 AB, BB) each added a hit.
The Knights struck first in the opening inning as Chong laced his first career triple to left field with one out. Sophomore first baseman
Peter Bounougias (Plainview, N.Y.) followed with an RBI groundout to give Queens an early 1-0 lead.
Molloy responded with three runs in the bottom half of the second inning, using three hits and a Queens error to take the lead. The Lions held the Knights to just two baserunners over the next seven innings while extending their advantage to 8-1 entering the ninth.
Queens mounted a late push, scoring twice in the top of the ninth, but the rally fell short as the Knights dropped the ECC opener, 8-3.
Game Two Recap
Queens again recorded five hits in the nightcap, with Chong leading the offense with a 2-for-3 performance and an RBI. Junior catcher
Thomas McElwee (West Islip, N.Y.), sophomore outfielder
Henry Tolentino (Bronx, N.Y.), and sophomore second baseman
Tommy Pasqua (Williston Park, N.Y.) each added a hit, with Pasqua doubling and scoring a run.
On the mound, Vilardi delivered a career performance, tossing his third career complete game and first career shutout. The right-hander allowed just five hits and one walk while striking out five in the 2-0 victory. Dating back as far as 1994, the shutout marks the program's first over Molloy.
Both starters traded scoreless frames early, combining to allow just nine baserunners through the first four innings. Vilardi worked out of a leadoff single in the fourth before the Knights broke through in the fifth.
Pasqua opened the inning with a double to right field, and rookie center fielder
John Harkins (Babylon, N.Y.) drew a nine-pitch walk. Chong moved both runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt, and a Molloy throwing error allowed Pasqua to score from third for a 1-0 lead.
Vilardi responded with a clean bottom half, and Queens added an insurance run in the sixth.
Junior left fielder
Christian Aguilar (New York, N.Y.) worked a walk, Tolentino singled, and after a sacrifice bunt and Harkin's second walk of the day loaded the bases. With the bases loaded, Chong delivered a RBI single through the left side to make it 2-0.
Holding a 2-0 lead, Vilardi retired the first two batters of the inning to extend his streak to 11 straight, but the Lions refused to go quietly, putting the tying run on base with back-to-back singles.
With the game on the line, the junior right-hander stayed composed and induced a ground ball to Piazza at shortstop for the final out, securing his first career shutout and the Knights' conference victory.
Next Pitch
Queens continues East Coast Conference play on Saturday, March 14, when the Knights host regionally ranked No. 8 Mercy University Mavericks at Hennekens Stadium. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for noon.
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