The St. Thomas Aquinas College baseball team fell to a pair of defeats, 10-7 and 10-2, in an East Coast Conference double-header at Provident Bank Park. Giovanni Dingcong totaled four hits for the Spartans, who fell to 22-12-1 overall and 12-6 in the ECC, while Dowling improved to 23-9, 12-6.

By virtue of the sweep, Dowling moved into a tie for first place with STAC in the conference and now holds a tiebreaker advantage. The news wasn't all bad for the Spartans, however, as Molloy suffered a twin-bill sweep at Mercy College, dropping STAC's Magic Number for the ECC Tournament to two. Click Here for full ECC Standings.

Game one started as a pitchers' duel which turned into a slugfest. Dowling held a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the fourth, when Brandon Fischer's RBI single helped the hosts take a 2-1 lead. with both starters tiring, the teams traded runs throughout the late innings, but STAC still appeared in control with a 7-4 lead entering the final frame.

STAC's bullpen could not hold on, however, as the Golden Lions combined five hits with a pair of walks and a hit batter to push across six runs and tilt the decision in their favor. John Bednarek was tagged with the loss while Jon Parisi picked up the relief win for Dowling.

With a big victory under their belt, the visitors carried that momentum into the second game, scoring early and often. Dowling banged out eight runs on 11 hits over the first three innings, putting the game out of reach early and making Nick Gargan's two-run homer in the final frame incidental to the final result.

Dingcong did his part at the plate, going 3-for-3 in the second game while Joseph Pena added a pair of hits. Matt Petro took the loss for STAC, with Dowling's David Monteverdi going the distance for the win.

After a rare Saturday off, the series shifts to Long Island, wrapping up with a Sunday double-header starting at 12:00 noon at Dowling. The regular season then enters its final full week, with the Spartans hosting Felician in a 3:30 non-conference tilt on Wednesday before Bridgeport pays a visit Friday to start off a weekend four-game series.