POMONA, N.Y. – Continuing East Coast Conference play, the Queens College baseball team traveled to Pomona, N.Y. on Sunday evening for a doubleheader against the St. Thomas Aquinas College Spartans at Clover Stadium.
The Knights battled back from two deficits in the opener but a four-run sixth inning by the Spartans proved decisive in an 8-4 loss. Game two was suspended in the top of the fourth inning with Queens trailing 3-1 due to heavy rain.
Game One Recap – Queens 4, STAC 8
Queens recorded eight hits in the series opener, led by rookie second baseman
Joshua Angely (Upland, CA) and junior designated hitter
Michael Vilardi (Massapequa, N.Y.), who combined for four hits, two runs scored, and one RBI. Rookie third baseman
Justin Chong (Queens Village, N.Y.), senior right fielder
Vincent Mallon (Massapequa, N.Y.), and junior catcher
Niko Sorice (Rocky Point, N.Y.) added three hits, three RBI, and one run scored.
The Spartans jumped out to a 3-0 lead after three innings before Queens got on the board in the top of the fourth. With one out, Angely tripled to left center and came home on a Vilardi single to right field.
After a scoreless bottom half of the inning, the Knights rallied with two outs in the fifth. Rookie center fielder
John Harkins (Babylon, N.Y.) worked a walk to keep the inning alive before Chong drove him in with a double down the left field line, advancing to third on the throw. Mallon followed with an RBI single up the middle to tie the game at 3-3.
St. Thomas Aquinas answered with a run in the bottom of the fifth to regain the lead, but Queens responded again in the sixth. Taking advantage of a walk and a fielding error, Sorice lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to even the score at 4-4.
The Spartans broke the game open in the bottom of the sixth, scoring four runs to take an 8-4 lead, a margin the Knights could not overcome.
Game Two Recap – Queens 1, STAC 3 (Suspended – Rain)
Queens fell behind 2-0 in the first inning before Harkins cut the deficit in half with his second career home run, a solo shot down the right field line.
The Spartans answered with a solo home run of their own to make it 3-1, and heavy rain forced the game to be suspended in the top of the fourth inning. The contest will be resumed at a later date.
Next Pitch
Queens continues its road trip on Tuesday, traveling to Stroudsburg, Pa. for a non-conference matchup against East Stroudsburg University. First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 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), X (Formerly Twitter) (@QCKnights), Queens College Baseball (@QC_Baseball), and Instagram (qcknightsny), QC Baseball (qcbaseball)
