Flushing, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Baseball team wrapped up their six-game regular season series with a 5-3 road win over Queens College on Sunday afternoon at Hennekens Stadium.

STAC improves to 21-12 overall and 10-8 in ECC play, while Queens falls to 9-20 and 4-13.

5-3 STAC

St. Thomas Aquinas staged a dramatic late comeback, erupting in the eighth inning to pull out a 5–3 ECC victory over Queens.

Pitchers' Duel Early

The game was dominated by pitching through the first seven innings, as both teams struggled to generate offense. St. Thomas Aquinas managed just one hit through the first seven frames, while Queens starter Noah Kirwin kept the Spartans off balance.

Queens broke the scoreless tie in the fifth, taking advantage of a defensive miscue to plate an unearned run. They added two more in the sixth on a sacrifice fly from Vincent Mallon and an RBI double by Michael Vilardi, building a 3–0 lead.

Eighth-Inning Chaos Turns the Tide

Everything changed in the eighth, when St. Thomas Aquinas capitalized on walks, aggressive baserunning, and costly Queens errors to score five runs.

The rally began when A.J. Cumbo singled, helping set up a sequence where Alex Celeiro and Kyle DeCresce both scored on a throwing error to cut the deficit to 3–2. Moments later, Nick Oelcher stole second, and in a heads-up play, Cumbo stole home to tie the game.

The Spartans weren't done. Another Queens throwing error allowed Oelcher to score and give St. Thomas Aquinas its first lead of the game. Joshua Mccormick then added a sacrifice fly to cap the five-run inning and make it 5–3.

Bullpen Slams the Door

After allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits over five innings, Sean Duke kept the Spartans within striking distance. Angelo Bartziokas was dominant in relief, tossing 3.2 scoreless innings to earn the win.

James Garcia closed it out, recording the final out to secure his seventh save of the season.

Key Performers

St. Thomas Aquinas

• A.J. Cumbo: 2-for-4, R, SB
• Joshua Mccormick: 0-for-2, RBI
• Nick Oelcher: 0-for-3, R, SB
• Alex Celeiro: 0-for-1, R

Queens (N.Y.)

• Michael Vilardi: 2-for-3, 2B, RBI, R
• Thomas McElwee: 2-for-4
• Nick Piazza: 1-for-4, R, SB
• John Harkins: 1-for-2, R, SB

Up Next

STAC visits Georgian Court University for a non-conference matchup on Wednesday, April 15. First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m. at ShoreTown Ballpark in Lakewood, New Jersey.