The St. Thomas Aquinas College baseball team rallied for four straight wins to capture the East Coast Conference championship. Among the many heroes was Kenny Kirshner, who was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tourney.

St. Thomas Aquinas lost the opener of the four-team, double-elimination format on Thursday, falling to the University of Bridgeport, 7-3.  While Kirshner's 1-for-3 with a double wasn't enough to help his teammates in that game, he followed up on Friday morning going 2-for-4 with a run and three stolen bases in STAC's 4-1 win over Dowling College, eliminiating the hosts.

Molloy College - the only team to have won a season-series over the top seeded Spartans this season - was next in line and STAC responded in style with a 10-1 win, sending the Lions home for the summer. While Kirshner drew a pair of walks and scored a run in that affair, he saved his best for the final day.

A gray Saturday morning started with the Spartans fighting for surivial in a rematch with Bridgeport. As the Purple Knights were still in the winner's bracket, they needed just one win for the title, while STAC was faced with having to defeat UB twice to take their first crown. Kirshner went 2-for-4 with a walk and and RBI in the 6-2 win, forcing a one-game winner-take-all final against Bridgeport immediately following and the lefthanded-hitting junior would have a game for the STAC record books.

He tripled in his first at bat of the day in the second inning and came in to score to put STAC up 2-0. He repeated the feat with a triple in his next at bat in the fourth, scoring once again to give his team a 3-0 cushion.

Kirshner helped put the game out of reach in the seventh with a two-run double and also came in to score his third run of the day, as the Spartans pulled away to a tournament-clinching 9-1 victory.

In all, the Cornwall-on-Hudson native went 8-for-17 over the five games, batting .471 with two doubles, two triples, six runs scored and three RBI. His .571 on base percentage and .824 slugging percentage were keys in the Spartans' stirring championship run.

STAC has now earned one of the three automatic bids awarded in the East Region of Division II for the upcoming NCAA Tournament, joining CACC champ Wilmington and NE-10 winner New Haven. The full field, including the three remaining at-large bids in the East will officially be announced tonight at 10:00 Eastern.

To follow the selection live, visit NCAA.com at this link.