Matt Marotta tossed a six-inning no-hitter to lead the St. Thomas Aquinas College baseball team to a split in a 4-1 victory over Adelphi University in Garden City. The Spartans came up just short in the opener, 8-7 in 10 innings. STAC has now won three of its last four games to stand at 3-4 overall, while the loss in the nightcap was the Panthers' first of the season, dropping them to 3-1.
In the afternoon's opener, Adelphi was able to push across two runs in the second and one each in the fourth and fifth against, STAC starter Eric Cooper. The lefty sophomore scattered those four runs (three earned) on five hits over his five innings of work, but the Spartans were unable to break through on Panther starter Dillon McNamara, who yielded just three hits over his own five-inning stint.
STAC finally got on the board in the sixth, with a George Wargo single and error on right fielder Vinny Gaetano plating Joe Antenucci, and a two-out single by Christian Santo bringing Wargo around to cut the deficit in half. The teams traded runs in the seventh, with an Antenucci single bringing around Frank Salerno but an unearned run off reliever Joe DePool saw the Spartans again down by two at 5-3.
In the eighth, STAC would rally against reliever Michael Carletti, posting four runs to grab their first lead of the day. After a one-out walk to Santo, Derek Hirsch sent his first home run of the year out to left, tying the score. A two-out, two-run double by Barbalato would score Salerno and Efrain Bautista, giving the Spartans a 7-5 edge.
Adelphi would battle back against DePool in the 9th, however, as a Tyler Barrett sac fly brought home the tying run to send the contest to extras. Just one inning later, the Panthers would take the win off freshman Tim Tedesco. With one out, a pair of singles and a walk jammed the bags, and Donato Signore would be the beneficiary of a walk-off hit by pitch. Tedesco took the loss to fall to 0-1, while Adelphi's Chris Murphy worked the scoreless 10th to get the win. Each of STAC's four losses to date have been decided on runs scored in their opponents' final turn at bat.
As they have done throughout this young season, the Spartans bounced back in game two, and it was all about Matt Marotta. STAC got on the board quickly, as Salerno came home on an error in the opening frame. The Spartans' senior righty would take charge on the hill, allowing just three walks over the first four innings - two of whom were gunned down attempting to steal by catcher Mike Russo.
Still, St. Thomas Aquinas was unable to extend its lead on Panther starter Jimmy Milani and the hosts tied things in the fifth without the benefit of a hit. With one out, Marotta plunked Jacob Beard, who was run for by Nick Zito. After an error on third baseman Santo and a walk to load the bases, John Campbell brought in the unearned run with a sacrifice fly.
With skies darkening and a no-hitter intact, the Spartans were not to be denied. After Barbalato was hit by a pitch from reliever Stephen Bove leading off, he advanced to third on an Antenucci single. Wargo walked to load the bases and for the second time in three games, Andrew Hancsak was the offensive hero as his double into the left-center gap plated all three runners.
Marotta would take care of the rest, setting down Adelphi in order in the sixth and closing with his fifth strikeout of day, fanning Justin Farnum. It was then determined that the game could not continue due to darkness, earning Matt Marotta his first win of the season, dropping his ERA to a stellar 0.60 in 15 innings of work and, more importantly, giving him a place in the St. Thomas Aquinas College record books. Bove took the loss in relief for Adelphi.
The Spartans are back in action this Tuesday, March 6, when they return to beautiful Provident Bank Park to take on Pace University, with first pitch set for 3:00 pm. It's the last contest they will play in the northeast before heading on their Florida trip, which will start with a matchup against Felician College in Lake Worth, Florida on Friday, March 9. STAC is scheduled to play six games in the Sunshine State before returning north, when they host Southern New Hampshire University in a pair of twin-bills at PBP on Saturday and Sunday, March 17 and 18. Both double-headers are scheduled to start at 12:00 noon.
Reminder - if you can't make it to Provident Bank Park, you can follow the action of every Spartan home game in real time with our new Live Stats feature! Just click the appropriate link on the schedule page.