POMONA, N.Y. – Continuing East Coast Conference play, the Queens College baseball team split a Saturday afternoon doubleheader against regionally ranked No. 8 St. Thomas Aquinas College at Clover Stadium.
Across both contests, the Knights' offense stayed productive, totaling 23 hits, five doubles, one triple, two home runs, and 16 runs scored. Senior third baseman
Nick Piazza (Queens, N.Y.) paced the lineup with six hits, including two doubles, while adding a RBI and three runs scored. Senior right fielder
Vincent Mallon (Massapequa, N.Y.) delivered a standout performance, recording four hits, two doubles, a home run, three runs scored, and a team-high six RBI.
The trio of rookie shortstop
Joshua Angely (Upland, CA), junior
Jordan Babbo (Merrick, N.Y.), and junior left fielder
Paul Fiene (Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) combined for six hits, two RBI, and three runs scored.
Game One – Queens 3, STAC 15
Defensive miscues proved costly in the opener, as Queens committed five errors, three coming in the first two innings, allowing the Spartans to build an early 5-0 lead.
The Knights responded in the third inning with RBI efforts from Mallon and Babbo to trim the deficit to 5-2. However, St. Thomas Aquinas extended its advantage with single runs in the third and fifth innings.
Despite consistent baserunners, Queens stranded nine in the game as the Spartans pulled away late with an eight-run eighth inning to secure the 15-3 decision.
Sophomore right-hander
Matt Rosenberg (North Massapequa, N.Y.) provided a bright spot out of the bullpen, matching a career-high with 5.0 innings pitched and setting a new career best with seven strikeouts.
Game Two – Queens 13, STAC 2
Queens responded emphatically in the nightcap, erupting offensively and receiving a dominant outing on the mound from sophomore right-hander
Severino Napolitano Jr. (Brooklyn, N.Y.).
With one out, Harkins earned a walk and stole second base before Mallon continued his hot streak with a two-run home run to right field, giving the Knights an early 2-0 lead.
Queens broke the game open in the second inning, tallying five runs on five hits. RBI singles from Angely and Piazza, along with a two-RBI double from Mallon and an RBI groundout by junior
Michael Vilardi (Massapequa, N.Y.), extended the lead to 7-0.
As Napolitano Jr. kept the Spartans off the scoreboard through the first three innings of play, the Knights continued to apply pressure, adding an RBI sacrifice fly from Mallon in the fourth to extend the lead to 8-0.
The home side responded with a run in the bottom of the fourth using a pair of singles, but the Brooklyn native stranded two runners to maintain a 8-1 advantage after four complete innings.
Following a clean fifth inning for both sides, Napolitano Jr.'s second scoreless frame of the day, Queens erupted again in the sixth.
Pasqua and Angely opened the inning with back-to-back singles before the Spartans recorded the first out. With both runners in scoring position, Harkins delivered a two-RBI single to right-center to extend the lead to 10-1. Moments later, Waiting launched a two-run home run to right field, his fourth of the season, to push the advantage to 12-1.
In the bottom half of the sixth, Napolitano Jr. retired his fifth straight batter before a single ended the streak. He recorded the second out on a ground ball to Piazza, but a fielding error extended the inning and allowed the Spartans to score their second run.
Napolitano Jr. delivered a career-best outing, tossing 5.2 innings while allowing five hits and one earned run with four strikeouts to earn his first win of the year.
Queens then turned to senior right-hander
Johnny Dezago (Howard Beach, N.Y.) for the final four outs. After a single prolonged the inning, Dezago induced a fielder's choice to Angely to end the sixth.
In the top of the seventh, junior catcher
Niko Sorice (Rocky Point, N.Y.) led off with a triple down the right field line and later scored on an RBI groundout by junior left fielder
Christian Aguilar (New York, N.Y.) to make it 13-2.
With the Spartans down to their final three outs, Dezago worked a clean inning, the Knights' third of the game, to secure the 13-2 victory and a doubleheader split, earning Queens its fourth ECC win of the season.
Next Pitch
Queens concludes the four-game series on Sunday, April 12, as they host the Spartans at Hennekens Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for noon.
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