Pomona, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Baseball team returned to the friendly confines of Clover Stadium on Thursday evening to open a four-game East Coast Conference series with the College of Staten Island. However, due to their field being unavailable, the Dolphins served as the home team in this one and put the kibosh on any potential home field advantage for the Spartans with a lopsided 20-2 decision.
STAC falls to 14-6 overall and 5-3 in ECC play, while CSI moves to 6-10 and 3-5.
20-2 CSI
Staten Island erupted for 20 runs on 19 hits, using multiple big innings to overwhelm St. Thomas Aquinas in ECC play.
Early Control for Staten Island
Staten Island struck first in the opening inning, taking a 1–0 lead on a sacrifice fly from Jandel Brito.
They broke the game open in the second, plating five runs. Vincent Weigele and Brandon Bartick each drove in runs with singles before Jamel Vera launched a three-run homer to right-center, extending the lead to 6–0.
The offense kept rolling in the third. Bartick added a two-run home run, and Staten Island pushed the advantage to 9–0.
Offense Keeps Rolling
Staten Island continued to apply pressure in the fifth inning, scoring four more runs. Weigele delivered a two-run single, Vera added a sacrifice fly, and Jason Romance contributed an RBI single to stretch the lead to 13–0.
After St. Thomas Aquinas got on the board in the sixth— with Alex Celeiro scoring on a wild pitch—Staten Island responded immediately. Jaden Waterman blasted a two-run home run to make it 15–1.
The Dolphins capped its scoring in the eighth with a five-run inning, highlighted by Vera's second three-run homer of the game, pushing the lead to 20–1.
Late Runs for STAC
The Spartans managed their second run in the ninth inning when Christopher Merrill scored on a fielding error, but the deficit proved too large to overcome.
Pitching Dominance
Michael Furst earned the win for Staten Island, allowing one run on six hits over five innings while striking out three. Aidan Kielty followed with four innings of relief, giving up one run on four hits and striking out four.
Andrew Schoelles took the loss for St. Thomas Aquinas after allowing eight runs over 2.2 innings. The Spartans used multiple relievers, including Ricardo Gonzalez, Dylan Wilkinson, Robert Williams, Zachary Rometo and Christopher Lamond but Staten Island's offense continued to produce throughout the game.
Key Performers
St. Thomas Aquinas
- Anthony Dimarco: 3-for-5, double
- Ryan Hillery: 2-for-4
- Charlie Cordisco: 2-for-3
- Christopher Merrill: 1-for-1, run
- Nick Bumbaco: 0-for-1, RBI
Staten Island
- Jamel Vera: 3-for-5, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 3 R
- Vincent Weigele: 4-for-5, 4 RBI, 3 R
- Jaden Waterman: 4-for-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, 4 R
- Brandon Bartick: 2-for-3, HR, 3 RBI, 4 R
- Jason Romance: 3-for-6, RBI
Up Next
The series continues on Saturday, March 28 with the Spartans hosting a doubleheader at Clover Stadium. First pitch of game one is scheduled for noon.