(05-04-08)
Box Score
FLUSHING, N.Y. -- Senior Michael Moras drove in a season-high seven runs on three doubles, including a run-scoring two-bagger that broke a 10-all tie in the eighth inning of the University of New Haven's 12-10 East Coast Conference win over Queens College (N.Y.) at Knights Field on Sunday.
The win improves UNH to 22-23 overall and 17-10 in the ECC. The Chargers finish the regular season in a three-way tie with St. Thomas Aquinas and Dowling for the regular season championship, and UNH will be seeded second for the upcoming ECC Baseball Championships.
Moras, the program's all-time leader in RBI's with 168, had two 3-run doubles earlier in the game before knocking in the game-winning run in the eighth. He finished 3-for-5 with three runs scored, and now leads the team this season with 31 RBI's.
Kyle Donnelly drove in a pair of runs and Nick Sperounis added an RBI for the Chargers. Tom Rombilus scored twice after going 3-for-6 at the plate.
Queens (11-25-1, 9-17-1) had erased a six-run deficit with six unanswered runs scored across the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to tie the contest at 10-all.
Closer Mitch Rossi was brought in to finish off the final 2 2/3 innings of the game and picked up his fourth victory of the season. He was not charged with a run while striking out four, and has now either won or saved (6) ten of the Chargers' 22 team victories this season.
Queens was led by Mike Sporton, who drove in three runs, while three other players drove in two apiece.
Both starting pitchers got touched up for seven earned runs, including UNH's Mike Aquilino (5 2/3 innings, 7 runs, 7 earned) and Queens' Brian Honeyman (5 innings, 10 runs, 7 earned).
UNH scored six runs in the top of the first inning, but saw its lead cut in half after the Knights got three in the bottom half. Queens cut into the lead further with a run in the bottom of the third, but UNH extended its margin with a four-run fourth inning.
That left the Chargers ahead 10-4 heading to the bottom of the fifth, before Queens began to chip away. They got a run in that frame, then added two more in the sixth and had a three-run seventh that tied the contest.
UNH won the game in the eighth when Moras doubled home Dan Rosa (walk) and later scored on a sac fly by Donnelly.
Rossi, who gave up a two-run single in the seventh (the runs went on the record of reliever Ian Solomon), got out of that inning with a double play. He allowed back-to-back singles in the eighth, but got three straight outs, and then he struck out the side in the ninth inning to preserve the victory.
As the second seed for the upcoming ECC Championships, to be hosted by Dowling College in Brookhaven, N.Y., UNH will play the winner of the (6) Adelphi at (3) Dowling game, to be played on Wednesday. UNH will play in the first game on Friday, May 9, at noon.
