FIRST PITCH
Score: Queens 9 | Southern Illinois 8
Records: Queens (3-3 overall, 0-0 ASUN) | Southern Illinois (1-4 overall, 0-0 MVC)  
Location: The Stick Williams Dream Fields (Charlotte, N.C.)
 
THE SHORT STORY
Trailing 8-7 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning, the Queens University of Charlotte baseball team rallied late as Bradley Brown delivered a sacrifice fly to walk it off against Southern Illinois on Saturday night. The victory was the Royals second straight of the weekend over the Salukis as they improved to 3-3 on the young season.

HOW IT HAPPENED
-Queens jumped on the visiting Salukis in the bottom of the first inning. Bradley Brown laced a one-out single up the middle before advancing to second on a failed pickoff attempt. Mitchell Basterrechea stepped in and belted his first home run of the season to right-center to give the Royals a 2-0 lead.
-Southern Illinois would strike back in the top of the fourth inning, plating three runs on three hits. Kaleb Hall got the inning started with a double to right center before a single through the right side from Michael Mylott put runners on the corners. Tim Simay scratched across the first run with a sacrifice fly, and Kristian Sprawling followed it up with a two-run home run to left field to send the Salukis ahead 3-2.
-The Royals jumped back ahead of the Salukis in the bottom of the fifth inning, capitalizing on a defensive miscue. With a runner on first and two outs, Kendall McDowell laced a single to left field. In what seemed like an ordinary play, the Salukis left fielder misplayed it and the ball rolled to the wall, bringing home Childers to tie the game. Southern Illinois turned to their bullpen and Bradley Brown greeted the new arm with an RBI double to left center to put the Royals ahead 4-3.
-In the ensuing inning, Gage Doss stepped in and deposited the second pitch he saw over the right field fence. Southern Illinois got that run back in the top of the seventh inning when Jacob McKenzie led off the inning with a solo blast to left field.
-The Salukis regained the lead in the top of the eighth inning with four runs on one hit. Southern Illinois capitalized on six free passes in the frame. The Royals would get two of those runs back in the bottom half of the inning as Bradley Brown and Thomas Mathay went yard in back-to-back plate appearances to cut the deficit back to one.
-In the bottom of the ninth inning, Lenox Lively led off the inning with a pinch hit walk before Grayson Childers worked an eight pitch walk to put the winning run on base. Dylan Schaefer dropped down a beautiful bunt and beat it out to load the bases with no outs. Kendall McDowell stepped in and delivered a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring the tying run and advancing Childers to third. Bradley Brown stepped in and wasted no time sending a sacrifice fly to center field and Childers beat out the throw to the plate to send the Royals home with a 9-8 win.

BY THE NUMBERS
-Bradley Brown led the Royals offense with his second multi-hit performance of the season as the redshirt freshman went 3-for-4 with a double, home run, three RBI, and two runs scored.
-Junior Mitchell Basterrechea connected on his first home run of the season as part of a 1-for-3 night at the plate.
-Newcomer Gage Doss turned in a 1-for-4 night at the plate, including his first home run of the season.
-Thomas Mathay entered the game in the top of the seventh inning as a defensive replacement and capitalized in his only plate appearance, belting his first home run of the season.
-Kendall McDowell, Grayson Childers, and Dylan Schaefer rounded out the Royals offense with a hit each. Childers roped his first double of the season in the second inning.
-The Queens bats belted four home runs on the day, the most in a single game since March 20, 2024.
-Avery Booker picked up his first collegiate win, tossing 1.0 scoreless inning and working around two hits.

NEXT UP
Queens will wrap up the weekend on Sunday, February 22^nd, as the Royals welcome North Carolina A&T. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. from The Stick.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
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