The St. Thomas Aquinas College baseball team shook off a 17-4 loss in the opener, coming back for a 4-1 win in the nightcap to earn an East Coast Conference split at Dowling College. The win gave the Spartans their third straight 30-win season as both teams now stand at 30-13 overall.

With the game one win, Dowling clinched the top seed in the upcoming ECC Tournament and is now 18-5, while the Spartans are locked into the #2 slot and are 16-7 in league play.

STAC threatened early in game one, with five of the first batters recording hit, but they were only albe to plate one run on a 2nd inning infield hit by Rich Baerga. Spartan starter Anthony Morris was touched for a pair of unearned runs in the second and two more of the earned variety in the third, giving the hosts a 4-1 lead.

Unlike Friday's series opener, a comeback was not in the cards for St. Thomas Aquinas, as Dowling blew the contest open with a nine-run 5th inning, and answering Stanley Susana's homer in the next frame by adding four more in the 6th to make the score 17-2. Kadeem Octave and Mike Apreda drove in runs with outs in the 8th to provide the final margin as the Spartans saw their 9-game winning streak snapped as Morris fell to 2-1 with the loss.

In the nightcap it was the Golden Lions jumping to a 1-0 lead on a 2nd inning tally, but STAC's Matt Kostolos would hold his foes iin check the rest of the way. Kenny Kirshner tied the game with an RBI ground out in the 3rd, and the Spartans took the lead for good with a pair in the 4th, as Omar Cuevas and Baerga each recorded sacrifice flies.

Kenny Kirshner doubled and eventually scored an insurance run on a wild pitch in the 5th, but the rest would be in the hands of Kostolos, who allowed just six hits in the seven-inning complete game, striking out four without walking a batter. The right-hander allowed just three singles over the last five innings to improve to 5-1 on the season. as the Spartans earned their second win in three games thus far, with the series concluding at Provident Bank Park tomorrow.

While the top seedings for the ECC Tournament have now been decided, Sunday's contest could have a bearing on the NCAA East Regional rankings. Entering this week, Dowling was holding the #4 seed, with the Spartans sitting in the #5 position. Six teams qualify for the NCAA Tournament, with automatic bids going to the champions of the ECC, Northeast-10, and Cental Atlantic Collegiate Conference, and the other three being issued to the best remaining teams on an at-large basis.

As the final home game of the season, Sunday's contest is Senior Day, as well as the Spartans' annual Wounded Warrior Day. Pre-game ceremonies start at 12:20 honoring STAC's seniors, and teams will wear commemorative camo hats, which will also be on sale on the concuourse with proceeds going to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project. First pitch is slated for 1:00 pm.