A four-run fifth inning rally was enough to propel Dominican College to a 6-3 victory over the St. Thomas Aquinas College baseball team at Provident Bank Park. Tim Tedesco's three hitless innings of relief was not enough to prevent the Spartans from dropping their fourth game in their last five, as their record stands at 11-8 overall. In improving to 4-13 on the season, Dominican snapped a slide that saw them lose five of their previous six.
Spartan starter Robert Frank escaped a bout of wildness in the first as he allowed one hit, three walk, and the inning's only run on a wild pitch. STAC would grab the lead in the second off Dominican's Caleb Whiteley, with both runners brought home on sac files by Matt Marotta and Efrain Bautista.
Both pitchers settled in, though while Frank allowed just one hit through his first four innings of work, it was wildness that would prove to be his undoing in a decisive fifth. Frank, who had already walked seven Chargers while fanning nine, hit the first two batters in that inning, forcing the call to the bullpen. Mike Roestenberg yielded two hits in the inning but also was victimized by three errors, staking the visitors to a 5-2 lead they would not relinquish.
Roestenberg continued to struggle in the sixth, allowing another run before Tedesco came on to put out the fire. In the meantime, Whiteley continued to keep St. Thomas Aquinas off-balance, leaving in the eighth after hitting leadoff batter Nick D'Angelo. While D'Angelo would eventually score on a Dominican error, Whiteley's line in getting the win was no less impressive, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits in his seven frames of work to improve to 1-0. Tedesco held the fort with three hitless innings of relief for the Spartans but they were unable to break through as Nicholas Kevlin closed out the ninth to earn the save.
The Spartans hit the road on Thursday, March 22 to take on Caldwell College before kicking off the East Coast Conference portion of their schedule with a weekend set against Dowling College. STAC will host the Golden Lions at Provident Bank Park in a double-header on Saturday, March 24 at noon, before traveling to Brookville for a solo on Sunday, also slated for noon.
Notes - Frank Salerno saw a couple of streaks come to an end against Dominican. With an 0-for-3 day at the plate, his 12 game hitting streak was halted and he also failed to reach base safely for the first time in 25 games, dating back to the end of last season.
Remember, if you can't make it to the park you can follow the Spartans in real time for every home game and select road contests by clicking on the "Live Stats" link (where available) on the team schedule.