The St. Thomas Aquinas College baseball team won its fourth of five games on the current road trip, rallying to beat Slipper Rock University at the Division II Challenge at the USA National Baseball Training Center in Cary, North Carolina. The Spartans now stand at 4-7 on the season, with SRU dropping to 5-4.

Both teams scored early with STAC bringing home a pair in each of the first two innings, partially offset by The Rock pushing across two in the visiting second. STAC held that lead until Slippery Rock rallied for three in the fourth and another in the fifth to take a 6-4 lead, but the suddenly-hot Spartans were not to be denied.

Three sixth-inning singles brought Brian Donnelly in to cut the gap to 6-5, and Chris Ruiz came through with a big two-out, two run double to put St. Thomas Aquinas back on top. Ruiz proceeded to score on a wild pitch to add an insurance run but it proved unnecessary as STAC's bullpen came through, with Angelo Baez coming on to record his first save of the season.

The Spartans close out their North Carolina trip with another tough regional battle against Franklin Pierce on Wednesday, at 11:30 am. From there, the team will head to Virgina to play a three-game set against Bloomsburg University, with a noon double-header Friday followed by a 1:00 pm single game on Saturday. STAC then returns north for a Wednesday road game against Felician before the schedule Home Opener against the College of Saint Rose on Thursday, March 21, at 3:30 pm at Palisades Credit Union Park.