FLUSHING, NY – The College of Staten Island baseball team opened a four-game East Coast Conference (ECC) series against Queens College on Friday afternoon at Hennekens Stadium.
The Dolphins used a late-inning surge to pull away from the Knights, rallying for a 14-11 victory. With the win, CSI improved to 10-20 overall and 5-13 in conference play.
Queens struck first with a run in the top of the opening inning, but the Dolphins responded quickly. Jack Kehoe delivered an RBI single to even the score at 1-1 heading into the second. The Knights then broke things open with a six-run second inning to take a 7-1 lead. CSI answered immediately, putting together a five-run frame of their own to cut the deficit to one. Vincent Weigele, Jamel Vera, Michael Flashner, and Jason Romance each contributed RBI at-bats in the inning, with Romance launching his sixth home run of the season to make it 7-6.
Queens added three more runs across the third and fourth innings to extend their advantage to 10-6 while holding CSI scoreless during that stretch. After a scoreless fifth, the Dolphins came alive in the sixth backed by a pair of home runs by rookie duo, Ryan Ortega and Brandon Bartick. Ortega sparked the rally with a home run, and later in the inning, Bartick followed with a two-run homer to bring CSI within one, 10-9.
The Dolphins took their first lead of the game in the seventh with a three-run inning. Weigele delivered the go-ahead hit, driving in two runs to put CSI in front, 11-10, and the Dolphins capitalized on a Knights error for the third run of the inning, 12-10. In the final scoring inning for the Dolphins, Jaden Waterman added insurance with a two-run RBI double, sealing the 14-11 win.
Kehoe and Weigele each went 3-4 at the plate, with Weigele driving in a team-high three runs. Bartick, Romance, and Waterman added two RBI apiece. On the mound, Aidan Kielty earned the win, tossing 4.2 innings with one strikeout, while Kehoe picked up his third save of the season, striking out two.
The Dolphins will return to Hennekens Stadium Saturday afternoon for a doubleheader against the Knights with the first pitch scheduled for 12:00 PM.
GAME REPLAY