Philadelphia, Pa. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College closed out its weekend series with Jefferson University, dropping three of four games, following Sunday's doubleheader sweep by the Rams at Alumni Field. 

Jefferson took game one 10-6, then shutout the Spartans 5-0 in game two.

HOW IT HAPPENED - GAME ONE

• Jefferson led off the day with four first inning runs. Chris McLean reached on an error by the STAC second baseman, with the bases loaded, allowing Alex Gonzalez to cross the plate to make it 1-0.
• The very next Jefferson batter, Gabe Silva, singled through the left side with the bases full of Rams, scoring Jay Kalieta to double their lead at 2-0.
• A fielder's choice (Joe Cencetti), combined with another error at second base brought both Vince Barone and Chris McLean around to score to make it a 4-0 game.
• STAC got on the board in the second with a one-out, bases loaded sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Sean Lynch to cut the deficit to 4-1.
• Deigo Santiago's RBI single to right centerfield, in the third inning, plated Gabe Silva and extended the Jefferson lead to 5-1.
• An Andrew Alameda fourth inning wild pitch, with runners on second and third for the host Rams, brought home Marquise Wood to make it 6-1.
• In the fifth inning, the Spartans cut the Jefferson lead to just one. First Christopher Conti sent a solo shot to left field, making it 6-2.
• Then Justin Klayman first singled through the right side, scoring both Andrew Jemison and Nick O'Connor, followed by C.J. Cumbo's RBI ground out to push Klayman to the plate, getting the margin to 6-5.
• Andrew Guerra's RBI single to right field in the very next inning, sent Christopher Conti home to tie the score at 6-6.
• In the bottom of the sixth, Jefferson re-took the lead with a four-run inning. A bases loaded 2 RBI single through the right side by Jay Kalieta, brought home both Justin Espinal and Marquise Wood to give the Rams a two-run lead at 8-6.
• Next, a Mateo Reyes wild pitch allowed Alex Gonzalez to trot home to make it 9-6 Jefferson.
• The final Rams run came via Chris McLean on a single to left field with Jay Kalieta coming around to score, making it 10-6.

HOW IT HAPPENED - GAME TWO

• The Rams once again got on the board first, when Gabe Silva stroked a two-out single to right field in the fourth inning, scoring Alex Gonzalez to make it 1-0.
• Diego Santiago doubled the Rams lead to 2-0 in the very next at-bat, with a single through the left side, bringing Chris McLean to the plate.
• In the sixth inning, McLean smacked a 2 RBI double down the left field line with runners at second and third to score both Jay Kalieta and Vince Barone, and open up a 4-0 lead for Jefferson.
• The next batter, Gabe Silva singled up the middle, to bring McLean around to score the final run of the game, at 5-0.

STAC PERFORMANCES

• Justin Klayman went 3-for-6 with 2 RBI and a run scored on the day.
• Christopher Conti (1-for-3) hit his second homer of the season, a solo shot. Conti also recorded 2 RBI and 2 runs scored, while also earning a walk.
• Nick O'Conner and Andrew Guerra both had two hits in seven at-bats and picked up a run scored apiece.
• Andrew Alameda got the start in game one for St. Thomas Aquinas and pitched only four innings, giving up four eight and six runs (two earned), while walking one and striking out two. 
• The Spartans bullpen (Ricardo Gonzalez and Mateo Reyes) combined to hurl two innings, surrendering five hits and four runs, while fanning two. Gonzalez (0-1) was tagged with the loss for giving up three runs on three hits in his inning pitched.
• Orin Winslow got the nod in game two and pitched five innings, giving up eight hits and five runs, while walking two and striking out six. Winslow (0-1) was charged with his first loss of the year.
• Jeremiah Vega pitched a perfect sixth inning for STAC out of the bullpen, K'ing one Rams batter.

FACTS & FIGURES

• The Spartans posted 6 runs on 12 hits, with 4 errors, while Jefferson earned 15 runs on 21 hits, with 1 errors in two games.
• STAC pitchers struck out 11 Rams batters, while issuing 3 walks on the day.
• St. Thomas Aquinas stranded 13 runners on base. Jefferson left 9 in both contests.

UP NEXT

St. Thomas Aquinas (6-9) opens the home portion of its 2023 schedule on Wednesday, March 22, when the Spartans host Dominican University. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at Clover Stadium in Pomona.