POMONA, NY – The College of Staten Island baseball team hosted an East Coast Conference (ECC) single game against the St. Thomas Aquinas Spartans Thursday night under the lights at Clover Stadium.
The Dolphins erupted for 20 runs across nine innings while holding the Spartans to just two in a dominant 20-2 ECC victory, improving to 6-10 overall and 3-5 in conference play.
Jamel Vera sparked his career night from the leadoff spot with a single up the middle. The junior advanced to third following at-bats by Michael Flashner and Jason Romance before Jandel Brito brought him home for the game's first run and a 1-0 lead.
The Dolphins' biggest scoring innings came in the second and eighth, where they plated five runs in each. The second inning began with a leadoff single by Jaden Waterman, setting the tone early. Vincent Weigele and Brandon Bartick followed with RBI singles before Vera delivered a three-run home run to give CSI a 6-0 lead after two innings.
Weigele drove in Jack Kehoe in the third for the Dolphins' seventh run, and Bartick followed with his first collegiate home run to extend the lead to 9-0. By the sixth inning, CSI had built a 13-0 advantage before the Spartans got on the board, cutting the deficit to 13-1.
Waterman quickly responded in the bottom half of the inning with a two-run home run, pushing the lead to 15-1 and marking the Dolphins' second homer of the night. In the eighth, CSI added another five-run frame to cap off the scoring. Kehoe crossed the plate on a wild pitch for a 16-1 lead before Weigele recorded his 100th career hit with an RBI single up the middle, scoring Ryan Ortega to make it 17-1.
Vera capped the Dolphins' scoring with his second three-run home run of the game, extending the lead to 20-1. The Spartans added one final run in the top of the ninth, but Aidan Kielty closed out the contest to secure the win.
Vera tied the CSI Division II single-game record with seven RBIs, going 3-5 with two home runs. Waterman finished a perfect 4-4 with four runs scored and two RBIs, while Weigele went 4-5 with four RBIs. Bartick added his first collegiate home run, finishing 2-3 with three RBIs. Michael Furst earned the win on the mound, striking out three over 5.0 innings, and Kielty followed with 4.0 innings and four strikeouts in relief.
The Dolphins return to Clover Stadium on Saturday for a doubleheader against the Spartans, with first pitch scheduled for 12:00 PM.
GAME REPLAY