The St. Thomas Aquinas College baseball team rode a 9th-inning RBI single from Joseph Pena to a 2-1 victory over Adelphi University in Miami Shores, Florida. STAC has now won four straight to improve to 9-3 on the season, with Adelphi dropping to 7-6.

For the third straight week, the Spartans received votes in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association (NCBWA) National Poll, placing them just outside the national Top 25. STAC entered the week ranked #3 in the East region, before victories over Barry University and Adelphi, which was ranked #5 in the East.

Spartan starter John Bednarek locked up with Adelphi counterpart Ed Baram through five scoreless innings before each team pushed across a run in the 6th. Nick Gargan's single brought home Greg Dawber, who reached on an error, but a bases-loaded double-play kept STAC from adding insurance.

That allowed the Panthers to tie the game in the bottom half on Brett Malm's two out RBI single. Bednarek ran into trouble with two out in the home 7th, yielding a walk, a single and hitting a batter to load the bases. Chris Pennell, who earned the save against Barry the previous night, came on to record the final out, in addition to a scoreless 8th.

John DeAngelis got the ball rolling in the top of the 9th with a one out double, and two batters later Pena would deliver the game-winning single. George Navadel came on to retire the side in order to earn his fourth save, with Pennell getting the win to improve to 2-0. Steven Kuhn dropped to 1-1 with the loss for the Panthers.

Pena, Dawber, and Nick Gargan each had two hits from the top slots in the STAC order, helping their team remain perfect in their current road trip at 4-0.

The Spartans close out their Florida swing with a pair against Southern Connecticut State University; single games on Wednesday and Thursday, with both set for 11:00 am starts.

Please Note - Due to unplayable conditions at Provident Bank Park, the scheduled home opening weekend against St. Anselm College on March 19 and 20 will be played at a site to be determined. Please check the schedule for updates.

- Steve Balsan, St. Thomas Aquinas Sports Information

- Photo by Dorice Arden