The St. Thomas Aquinas College baseball team avenged its loss a day earlier, grabbing an early lead and holding on for an 8-6 victory over Adelphi University in Lake Worth, Florida. Joe DePool worked six scoreless innings to pick up his second win as the Spartans snapped a modest two-game skid to improve to 5-3 while Adelphi fell to 3-2-1 overall.

Just 24 hours earlier, these teams met in the same venue, with Adelphi building a 5-0 lead and holding on for a 6-4 triumph. STAC looked to turn the tables and started in strong fashion, posting a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning. Frank Salerno manufactured a run with a walk, stole second and third and scored on a wild pitch. Two batters later, Mike Russo singled in Nick Barbalato to put the Spartans up 2-0.

Salerno would wreak havoc again in the third with a bunt single and come around on a pair of errors. He would help his squad tack on another in the fourth with a bases-loaded walk to make the score 4-0.

Starter Joe DePool would take full advantage of the run support, exiting after six scoreless innings, allowing just four singles while fanning four. His teammates would add three more in the last of the sixth, as Andrew Romanella was hit by a pitch and Nick Barbalato drew a walk, both with bases loaded, and a Russo sac fly put STAC up by seven. Rich Baerga added another sacrifice fly to give the Spartans a seemingly-comfortable 8-0 margin.

Adelphi would put up a pair of unearned runs in the top of the eighth off reliever Kyle Blank, but would make a serious bid in the ninth off Ken Kirshner. Four hits, one walk and an error helped the Panthers plate four runs and bring the tying run to the plate with two out, before Brian Tompkins would come on to quell the uprising and earn his first save.

Stanley Susana went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and Russo added two hits while DePool improved to 2-0 with the win. Chad Houghton led the attack for Adelphi, going 4-for-4, while starting pitcher Chris Pabish fell to 0-1 with the loss.

St. Thomas Aquinas returns to the field on Monday, March 11, when they take on American International College in a noon start. It will be the third game of the Spartans' six-game southern swing.