FLUSHING, N.Y. – Continuing East Coast Conference play, the Queens College baseball team welcomed the College of Staten Island Dolphins to Hennekens Stadium for a Friday afternoon doubleheader.
Early errors proved costly in the opener as the Knights left 11 runners stranded in a 6-2 defeat. In the nightcap, the Dolphins rallied late to take leads in the seventh and eighth innings, but Queens answered both times as the game was eventually halted due to darkness with the score tied, 7-7.
Game One Recap – Queens 2, CSI 6
The Knights totaled nine hits in the opener, led by senior right fielder
Vincent Mallon (Massapequa, N.Y.), who went 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored. Six other Knights recorded singles, with rookie first baseman
Dylan Vikara (Westbury, N.Y.) and sophomore second baseman
Tommy Pasqua (Williston Park, N.Y.) each driving in a run.
The Dolphins capitalized on two fielding errors to take a 4-0 lead in the top of the second inning.
Queens got on the board in the bottom of the third as Mallon led off with a double and later scored on Pasqua's RBI groundout to cut the deficit to 4-1.
Junior right-hander
Michael Vilardi (Massapequa, N.Y.) settled in on the mound, allowing the Knights to pull within two in the fifth when Vikara delivered an RBI single to make it 4-2.
CSI added insurance runs in the seventh and eighth innings to secure the 6-2 victory in the series opener.
Game Two Recap – Queens 7, CSI 7 (Halted – Darkness)
The Dolphins struck first in the nightcap, taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first.
Queens responded in the bottom of the second, using two hits and capitalizing on opportunities to score four runs. Rookie center fielder
John Harkins (Babylon, N.Y.), rookie infielder
Joshua Angely (Upland, CA), and Mallon combined to drive in the runs as the Knights took a 4-1 lead.
Junior right-hander
Peter Nenadich III (Bayside, N.Y.) limited the Dolphins to one run while tossing four consecutive scoreless innings to keep Queens in front.
With Queens leading 4-1 heading into the top of the seventh and the Dolphins down to their final three outs, the visitors rallied using five hits to take a 6-4 lead.
Queens answered in the bottom half, as senior infielder
Connor Waiting (Seaford, N.Y.) walked, junior catcher
Niko Sorice (Rocky Point, N.Y.) doubled, and sophomore left fielder
Henry Tolentino (Bronx, N.Y.) drove in a run with an infield single. Vilardi followed with a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 6-6 and force extra innings.
The Dolphins regained the lead in the eighth on a solo home run, but sophomore right-hander
Dominick Persichilli (Centereach, N.Y.) limited further damage by stranding two runners.
Queens refused to go away in the bottom of the eighth. Harkins doubled to lead off the inning, and later rookie infielder
Justin Chong (Queens Village, N.Y.) laced a RBI double to left field to score Harkins and tie the game 7-7.
With the game tied entering the ninth inning, play was halted due to darkness. The game will resume later in the season when the teams meet for a four-game weekend series beginning Friday, April 17.
Next Pitch
Queens returns to action Sunday, March 22, traveling to Pomona, N.Y. for an ECC doubleheader against St. Thomas Aquinas College. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
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