Uniondale, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Baseball dropped an 11-3 decision to Molloy University on Friday afternoon in the first of a four-game East Coast Conference series at Mitchel Field on Long Island.

STAC slips to 15-16 overall and 9-4 in the ECC, while Molloy moves to 23-11 and 11-2.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Molloy struck first, scoring three-second inning runs. First, a Matt Yip sacrifice fly to left field, scored Anthony Manisero to make it 1-0.
• RBI singles by JJ DeVito and Garrett Scavelli, brought home both Jake McCarthy and Chris Peralta to increase the Lions lead to 3-0.
• In the third inning, Jake McCarthy's double down the left field line, scored Gavin McAlonie and Anthony Manisero, expanding the Molloy advantage to 5-0.
• Robby Keane followed that up with a single to left field, bringing McCarthy to the plate to make it 6-0.
• An RBI sac-fly to centerfield by Anthony Manisero in the fourth gave the host Lions the extra point and a 7-0 lead.
• STAC finally cracked the shutout in the eighth inning, as Andrew Guerra's single up the middle, combined with a throwing error from centerfield, allowed David Potenza to make his way to the plate to cut the deficit to 7-1.
• Molloy got the run back and added three additional runs in the bottom of the frame, as first Garrett Scavelli's grounded into a bases loaded double play, scored Matt Yip to make it 8-1.
• Adam Larkin then reached first base on a throwing error by the STAC shortstop, which also brought home Robby Keane and made it a 9-1 game.
• The Lions final runs of the game came via Anthony Manisero's 2 RBI single up the middle, scoring both Aidan Larkin and Chris Einemann to make it 11-1.
• In the ninth, STAC attempted to close the gap on the scoreboard, plating two runs in the inning. Gregory DiGiaro singled to centerfield, with Nick O'Connor scoring to make it 11-2.
• An Andrew Jemison RBI single to centerfield brought DiGiaro around to score, making it an 11-3 contest.

STAC PERFORMANCES:

• Andrew Jemison went 2-for-5 on the afternoon with an RBI.
• Gregory DiGiaro (2-for-3, RBI, run) and Nick O'Connor (1-for-4, double, run) provided extra base hits for the Spartans.
• STAC also received a hit apiece from Andrew Guerra, Kyle DeCresce and David Potenza in the series opener.
• John Archer got the ball for Spartans on Friday and threw seven innings, giving up seven runs on nine hits, while walking two and striking out one. Archer took the loss and falls to 3-3 on the season.
• Jack Wilde was summoned from the bullpen for the eighth inning, and surrendered three hits and four runs (one earned), while walking one and fanning one.

FACTS & FIGURES:

• The Spartans posted 3 runs on 8 hits, with 2 errors, while Molloy earned 11 runs on 12 hits, with 1 error.
• STAC pitchers struck out 1 Lions batter, while issuing 3 walks on the day.
• St. Thomas Aquinas stranded 8 runners on base. Meanwhile Molloy left 7 in the contest.

UP NEXT:

This four-game series between the Spartans and Lions shifts to Clover Stadium on Saturday (April 15) for an afternoon doubleheader which gets underway at 12:00 p.m.