The St. Thomas Aquinas College baseball team broke the game open with a five-run fourth inning in a 10-2 non-conference victory over Nyack College at Provident Bank Park, as the Spartans improved to 23-9 while dropping Nyack to 9-17 overall.

It took until game 32 of the season that the Spartans were able to take the field at home, and the hosts didn't miss a beat. Greg Dawber and Joseph Pena hit the first two pitches of the home first for singles, and Brandon Fischer followed with an RBI hit, giving STAC an early 1-0 lead.

Spartan starter Frankie Moscatiello cruised through the first four innings allowing just one hit, while Nyack's Jean-Felix Proulx settled in until his fielders cost him on the bottom of the fourth.

Dawber's second hit of the game, an RBI single with two down, put his team in a 2-0 lead. After a Pena walk, Fischer's potential inning-ending grounder was booted, allowing two more runs to score. Deven Del Priore laced a single to center to bring home two more, and STAC was in business with a 6-0 cushion.

John DeAngelis led off the bottom of the fifth with a triple and scored on Michael Morgan's sac fly, and another error plated an unearned run to make the gap 8-0. Moscatiello gave way after five strong innings, and Juan Adorno's scorching two-run homer to right closed out the home team's barrage, before the Warriors broke the goosegg with a pair in the eighth. Moscatiello improved to 1-1 with the win, with Proulx slipping to 0-3.

The Spartans, who remain tied for first in the East Coast Conference with Bridgeport at 8-4 in league play, will enjoy their bye weekend before returning to action to face Kutztown University on Tuesday, April 19 at 3:30 pm.

- Steve Balsan, St. Thomas Aquinas Sports Information

- Photo by Dorice Arden