Staten Island, N.Y. - Needing victories down the stretch in order to climb back into the conference playoff race, the St. Thomas Aquinas College Baseball team earned a split of Saturday's East Coast Conference twin bill with the College of Staten Island at the CSI Baseball Complex. The host Dolphins took the opener 14-11, before the Spartans posted an 11-4 decision in the night cap.

STAC moves to 10-25 overall and 5-10 in ECC play, while CSI goes to 14-24 and 8-7.

Game one got underway with the Spartans picking up a run in the first inning, courtesy of an Anthony Dimarco RBI single to make it 1-0. Staten Island answered with an eight-run outburst in the third to pull ahead 8-1. Run scoring singles by Dimarco and Nick Oelcher, along with a Michael Zeis' 3 RBI double capped a five-run fifth inning to narrow the STAC deficit to just 8-6.

Ryan Hillery's RBI sac-fly in the sixth made it 8-7, but the Dolphins responded with four runs over the next two innings via three home runs to expand their advantage to 12-7. STAC and CSI traded eighth inning runs, as a Hillery RBI single in the eighth made it 14-8. Zeis' one-out, three-run blast in the ninth brought the maroon and gold within 14-11, but it would not be enough to rally his team all the way back.

Orin Winslow (L, 1-6) took the ball in the opener and lasted just two and two-thirds innings, surrendering eight runs (six earned) on seven hits with three walks and four punchouts to get tagged with the loss. Relievers Andrew Alameda, Anthony Holtje and Lorent Hoti combined to allow eight hits and six runs in five and a third innings of work. The trio also walked three and struck out eight.

Game two featured St. Thomas Aquinas erasing an early 1-0 Staten Island lead with eight runs over the second and third innings. A wild pitch which scored Ryan Appell, a 2 RBI double by David Potenza, a two-run double by Michael Zeis, an RBI single by Joseph Scamardella and a 2 RBI base knock by Ryan Hillery made it 8-1 in favor of the visitors from Sparkill. The Dolphins added a run in the bottom of the third to cut their deficit to 8-2, but three more runs via RBI singles from Scamardella and Ben Moscatiello, along with another Dolphins wild pitch, which ultimately scored Scamardella, increased the STAC lead to 11-2. CSI would get two more runs in the fifth and sixth innings, but the maroon and gold would walk away with the 11-4 victory.

Aidan Cardenas got start in the night cap and pitched two and a third innings, allowing two runs on four hits with two walks and four Ks. Cardenas was charged with a no-decision. Kyle Rogers and Jeremiah Vega each saw action out of the bullpen, with the duo combining to surrender two runs on two hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Rogers (W, 2-2) picked up his second win of the campaign on the strength of two and two-thirds innings of relief work with the lefty allowing just one hit and one run, while fanning two Dolphins batters.

STAC closes its four-game conference series with Staten Island on Monday, April 21 at Clover Stadium. First pitch between the Spartans and Dolphins is set for 3:30 p.m.