The St. Thomas Aquinas College baseball team cruised to an 11-3 non-conference victory over Concordia College at Provident Bank Park. Tyler Patane provided the big blow with a pinch-hit grand slam as STAC took its fourth straight to improve to 25-9 overall, dropping Concordia to 11-20. The Spartans also reached the 25-win plateau for the sixth straight season, with 16 regular-season games still to play.
After a pair of walks to start the home first, Brandon Fischer singled home a run to give the hosts a lead after just three batters. Deven Del Priore's sac fly made it 2-0, and Joseph Pena added a sac fly of his own in the second to open a 3-0 edge.
Frankie Moscatiello turned in his second straight performance of five scoreless innings, and his teammates would break the game open in the fourth. With Pena on first and two out, Del Priore singled and John DeAngelis walked to load the bases. Giovanni Dingcong brought home a run with another walk, bringing Clipper starter Josh Browning's day to a close.
Reliever Jacob Bannon was rudely welcomed to the game by pinch-hitter Patane, who sent his first offering deep onto the roof in the right field porch, opening up a 8-0 chasm. Moscatiello turned the ball over after allowing just three hits while striking out six and walking two, and four relievers worked an inning each, allowing a total of three unearned runs.
Pena's RBI bunt single added a tally in the fifth, and Rich Cesca, Jr. tacked on a run-scoring single in a two-run seventh to close out the Spartan barrage. Eleven different players contributed to the 15-hit attack, with Patane, Fischer, Juan Adorno and Greg Dawber chipping in two each.
The East Coast Conference schedule heats up this weekend as STAC squares off with rival Dowling College for a four-game series. The set is scheduled to begin with a 7:00 pm start Friday at Provident Bank Park, before shifting to Long Island for a Saturday twin-bill, and concluding Sunday back in Rockland. (Please note - due to possible inclement weather on Friday, the schedule is subject to change. Please check the schedule page for the latest updates.)
- Steve Balsan, St. Thomas Aquinas Sports Information