Cary, N.C. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Baseball team opened its three-day, four game Cary, North Carolina road trip with a 5-3 victory over Saint Anselm College on Friday afternoon at the USA Baseball National Training Complex.

STAC improves to 2-3 on the year, while Saint Anselm falls to 1-11.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• David Potenza's fourth inning single through the left side with runners at first and third with two outs, scored Sean Lynch to make it 1-0 Spartans.
• In the bottom of the same frame, Saint Anselm took a 2-1 lead when Will Panarello launched a two-run shot to left field.
• STAC evened the score in the top of the sixth inning on a Sean Lynch solo homer to left field.
• Then Nick O'Conner's two-out single to centerfield, plated Gregory DiGiaro to put the maroon and gold ahead, 3-2.
• Christopher Conti closed the Spartan scoring in the sixth on an RBI single to left field, bringing Nick O'Connor home and doubling their advantage on the scoreboard at 4-2.
• The Hawks got one back in the bottom of the inning, as Mike Pierro doubled to right field with two outs, plating Brady Doran to cut their deficit to one (4-3).
• St. Thomas Aquinas pushed across an insurance run in the eighth, when Nick O'Connor's sacrifice fly to right field scored David Potenza to make it 5-3.

STAC PERFORMANCES

• Nick O'Connor had three hits in four at-bats, with a double, two RBI and a run scored.
• Sean Lynch went 3-for-5 with a double, home run, an RBI and two runs scored.
• Gregory DiGiaro also has three hits in five plate appearances for the Spartans and scored a run.
• Christopher Conti, Andrew Guerra and David Potenza recorded for a hit apiece in the game.
• Andrew Alameda got the start for STAC and allowed three runs on five hits over seven innings, while not walking anyone and striking out nine. Alameda secured his first win of the year to improve his record to 1-1 on the campaign.
• Mateo Reyes earned his first save of the season by pitching two perfect innings out of the bullpen for the maroon and gold, and fanning three Hawks batters.

FACTS & FIGURES

• The Spartans posted five runs on 12 hits, with no errors, while Saint Anselm earned three runs on five hits, with two errors.
• STAC pitchers struck out 12 Hawks batters, while issuing no walks on the day.
• St. Thomas Aquinas stranded 10 runners on base. Saint Anselm left three.

UP NEXT

STAC faces West Chester University (Pa.) in a twin bill on Saturday, March 4 (12 p.m. & 3 p.m.) at the USA Baseball National Training Complex.