The St. Thomas Aquinas College baseball team earned a split against LIU Post in an East Coast Conference double-header, dropping the opener by a 10-3 count before winning game two by a score of 6-2. The Spartans saw their win streak snapped at five games, but they did take three of four in the set to stand at 20-7 overall, and 6-2 in ECC play, tied with Bridgeport for first place. Post now stands at 10-14, 2-6.

Despite not enjoying the benefit of playing on their home field to date, the Spartans have already hit the 20-win plateau for the ninth straight season, and have moved back into the #3 slot in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association East Regional poll, and are narrowly outside of the top 25 in this week's National Poll, earning the 27th most ranking points overall.

After STAC swept a pair of one-run decisions at Post on Saturday, weather pushed back the final games to Tuesday, and it was evident early on that Spartans starter Anthony Morris did not have his usual impeccable control. The Pioneers put up four runs in the top of the first, added another in the second, and essentially put the contest away with four more in the fourth.

Among the few bright spots for STAC, Scott Hannon allowed just one unearned run on two hits in 5.1 innings of stellar relief, and Rich Cesca, Jr. went deep for his fifth homer of the season, tying for the team lead with Nick Gargan.

John Bednarek came through big in the game two start for STAC, holding his opponents hitless through three innings, though the Pioneers scratched out a 1-0 lead in the fourth on Kenny Daley's two-out RBI single.

A pair of Post errors in the home fifth opened the door, and the Spartans charged through. Nick Gargan's RBI single with two down give STAC its first lead of the day and Jon McGugan followed with a two-run hit, as a quartet of unearned runs gave his team a 4-1 lead.

Daley's fielder's choice in the top of the sixth brought LIU Post to within two, but Joseph Pena's RBI single in the bottom half extended the gap to 5-2. Brandon Fischer returned to the lineup with an RBI double to close out the scoring an inning later, and Bednarek gave way after 7.2 innings, allowing two runs on just five hits with seven strikeouts. Chris Pennell was perfect the rest of the way to preserve the victory.

The Spartans return to action on Friday, April 8, opening a four-game ECC series against Queens College with start time set for 3:30. Double-header action will be on tap at Queens at noon Saturday, before the series shifts back for Sunday's 1:00 pm finale.

Please note - Site, date and time for STAC's scheduled home games this weekend are subject to change. Please check the schedule page for the latest information.

- Steve Balsan, St. Thomas Aquinas Sports Information

- Photo by Dorice Arden