TAMPA, FLA. – The Queens University of Charlotte baseball team took No. 15 Georgia College down to the wire in Friday's season opener for both teams before the Bobcats rallied for a 6-2 victory at UT Baseball Field on the campus of Tampa University.
 
Redshirt-sophomore Noah Jones got Queens (0-1) on the board first with an RBI double in the second inning before Georgia College (1-0) evened the score with a run of its own in the top of the fifth. The Bobcats' offense was held in check by junior transfer Nick Charleson who tossed seven innings on the mound, allowing just one run on five hits with four strikes in his Queens debut.
 
The Royals took a late 2-1 lead in the bottom of the 8^th as redshirt-junior Dominic Ford sent a sacrifice fly to center field with the bases loaded, driving Jones home from third to plate the go-ahead run.
 
However, Georgia College took advantage of the Queens bullpen in the top of the ninth, rallying for five runs on four hits and three walks. Bobcat reliever Luc Scudellari got the Royals out in order to end the game and earn his first career win. Scudellari came out of the bullpen to throw 1.2 no-hit innings of relief for Georgia College.
 
Redshirt-senior Christian Huggins was hit with the loss for Queens after giving up fours on three hits in jus 1/3 of an inning. Redshirt-freshmen Adam Hartle and Drew Meschede, along with sophomore Zach Kelly, also made appearances on the mound for the Royals.
 
Jones was 2-for-2 at the plate with a double, an RBI and a run scored, while Ford was 1-for-3 with an RBI and a stolen base. Redshirt-senior Ryan Dudney also had a double in the contest.
 
The Royals are back in action tomorrow evening as they take on the defending 2019 NCAA Division II National Champions and top-ranked Tampa at 5:00 p.m.