Pomona, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Baseball team celebrated its graduating senior class, then went out and picked up a split of twin bill contests against the College of Staten Island on Friday at Clover Stadium.

STAC broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the eighth inning of game one with a Kyle Lagrutta sacrifice fly to centerfield, scoring teammate C.J. Cumbo to pick up a 2-1 victory, before dropping game two to the Dolphins 10-3.

The Spartans move to 19-23 overall and 12-6 in East Coast Conference play, while Staten Island goes to 15-22 and 7-11.

Prior to the doubleheader, between the Spartans and Dolphins, STAC honored its graduating senior class; Bryan Krolikowski, Vincent McDermott, Jack Wilde, Robert Hazelton, John Archer, Mateo Reyes, Gregory DiGiaro, Christopher Conti, Andrew Guerra, Andrew Jemison, Kyle Lagrutta and Aaron Dona with on-field ceremonies, which included the athletes' parents, families, teammates, coaches and college administrators.

HOW IT HAPPENED - GAME ONE:

• The Spartans opened the scoring with a first inning C.J. Cumbo solo shot to left field off of CSI starter Ryan Kehoe to make it 1-0.
• A Jake Meyers fifth inning single up the middle off of STAC's Aaron Dona, scored Anthony Iraci to tie the game at 1-1.
• In the eighth inning, STAC was able to scratch across the game winning run to pick up the 2-1 victory. First, C.J. Cumbo singled to left field and advanced to second base via a Staten Island miscue by their left fielder.
• An Andrew Guerra groundout to reliever Aidan Kielty moved Cumbo to third with one out.
• Kyle Lagrutta's sacrifice flyout to centerfield, brought C.J. Cumbo to the plate to make it 2-1.
• Aaron Dona worked out of trouble in the ninth inning, when Vincent Weigele led off with a single. Dona then picked up the first out via a sacrifice bunt, before being able to induce a ground ball double play to wrap up the contest and earn the complete game victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED - GAME TWO:

• CSI picked up the first run of the game in the first inning, as AJ Vigliotti reached via a bases loaded fielder's choice, with Michael Kehoe scoring to make it 1-0.
• Kehoe reached base on a error by the STAC shortstop in the fifth, allowing Christopher Hayes to score to increase the Staten Island lead to 2-0.
• A five-run sixth for the Dolphins, put the game squarely in the hands of the visitors. First, a bases loaded passed ball by the STAC catcher, brought Bryan Birkhead to the plate to make it 3-0.
• Next, a Vincent Weigele 2 RBI single to left field, scored both Thomas Marten and AJ Vigliotti to make it a 5-0 game.
• Tylor Martinez then doubled to right-centerfield with Nick Cippoletti scoring to put the game at 6-0 in favor of Staten Island.
• Jake Myers' RBI single to left-centerfield brought home Martinez to end the scoring in the frame and make it 7-0.
• STAC finally broke the shutout in the seventh inning with a Gregory DiGiaro monster shot to the left field bleachers, making it 7-1.
• A pair of ninth inning runs by Staten Island gave them 10 for the game. First, Nick Cippoletti's single through the left side with the bases full of Dolphins, scored both Bryan Birkhead and AJ Vigliotti to make it 9-1.
• Then, Tylor Martinez's RBI groundout brought Vincent Weigele to the plate to give the visitors a 10-1 advantage.
• STAC scored two in the ninth to cut into their deficit, as Nick O'Connor reached first on a CSI error by the pitcher, with Andrew Guerra making his way home, followed by Sean Lynch reaching via fielder's choice with Kyle Lagrutta scoring to make it a 10-3 final score.

STAC PERFORMANCES:

• C.J. Cumbo (2-for-4, RBI, 2 Runs) and Gregory DiGiaro (2-for-7, RBI, Run) both hit solo home runs on the afternoon
• STAC also received hits from Kyle Lagrutta (1-4, Double, RBI, Run, 3 Walks), Andrew Jemison (1-7, Walk), Nick O'Connor (1-7, RBI, Walk), Andrew Guerra (1-7, Run) and Christopher Conti (1-7) in the doubleheader.
• Aaron Dona got the start for Spartans in game one on Friday and went the distance, allowing eight hits and a run, while walking one and striking out seven. Dona earned his fifth win of the season in eight decisions.
• John Archer tossed five and two-thirds innings as the Spartans game two starter, giving up seven runs (three earned) on eight hits, while walking two and striking out three. Archer took the loss and moved to 3-3 on the year.
• Mateo Reyes, Robert Williams, Ryan Callaghan and Jeremiah Vega were each summoned from the bullpen for the final three and a third innings for STAC, combining to allow four hits and three runs, while walking three and fanning two Dolphins batters.

FACTS & FIGURES:

• The Spartans posted 5 runs on 9 hits, with 3 errors, while Staten Island earned 11 runs on 20 hits, with 2 errors.
• STAC pitchers struck out 12 Dolphins batters, while issuing 6 walks on the day.
• St. Thomas Aquinas stranded 11 runners on base. Meanwhile Staten Island left 13 in the contest.

UP NEXT:

STAC continues this four-game ECC series with the College of Staten Island at the CSI Baseball Complex on Sunday, April 30.

*Note* Due to the weather forecast in the NY Metropolitan Area Saturday's doubleheader has been moved to Sunday. The Spartans and Dolphins will attempt play two, seven-inning games with first pitch scheduled for 1:00 p.m.