Queens University of Charlotte Athletics

FIRST PITCH
Score: Queens 12 | Stetson 2 (8 inn.)
Records: Queens (16-38, 11-19 ASUN) | Stetson (23-31, 13-16 ASUN)
Location: The Stick (Charlotte, N.C.)

THE SHORT STORY
The Queens University of Charlotte baseball team closed out the regular season on Senior Day, honoring six seniors and team manager before the game, and the Royals followed that up by run-ruling visiting Stetson University with a 12-2 victory this afternoon at The Stick. The Royals used an eight-run eighth inning to propel them to their 16^th overall win and a program-best 11 conference victories this season.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Queens wasted no time getting on the board in the bottom of the first. Anibal Rivera walked to lead off and scored on Grayson Childers' two-run home run to right center to make it 2-0. Avery Booker kept things going when he walked and advanced to second on Justin Hudson's single through the left side. Following a strikeout, Matthew Suppa walked to load the bases. Booker later scored on Karter Wong's RBI single to left field to make it 3-0.
- The Royals added a run in the bottom of the second when Hudson's single down the left field line drove in Childers to push the lead to 4-0.
- Stetson got on the board in the top of the third with a solo home run and then added a run in the top of the seventh off an RBI single to cut the lead to 4-2.
- Queens broke the game open in the bottom of the eighth. It started when Logan Norris connected for a leadoff home run to right field to push the lead to 5-2. Rivera followed that up with a single to left center. He then advanced to third when Lenox Lively doubled down the right field line. Rivera touched home on a wild pitch to make it 6-2, while Lively took third on the play.  Following an out, Hudson was hit by a pitch to reach first, and then stole second.  Thomas Mathay got in the action when he drew a six-pitch walk to reach first.  Suppa picked up an RBI when he was hit by a pitch, which allowed Lively to score and allowed Mathay and Hudson to move up 90 feet.  Hudson then scored when Wong walked on four straight pitches. With Queens now up 8-2, Stetson went to the bullpen, but Jacob Grimes' RBI single to right scored Mathay to make it 9-2 was how the new reliever was greeted, and kept the bases loaded. Suppa and Wong came around to score when Norris doubled to right center to push the lead to 11-2, but it was Rivera's RBI single to right center that sealed the deal when he drove in Grimes to give the Royals the 12-2 run-rule victory.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
- Queens tallied 11 hits, 11 walks, and 11 RBIs in today's game.
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- Starting pitcher Joey Ruller picked up the win to finish the year at 4-8. He allowed two runs on seven hits over six innings, while striking out four.
- The Queens bullpen today, made up of Kensen Green and Davin Pollard, did not allow a hit over the last two innings. Pollard earned his first save of the season.
- Norris finished the day going 2-for-5 with a double, a home run, a run scored, and three RBIs.
- Rivera led the team in walks with three while going 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. This was his fourth game in his career to draw three walks in a game. He finished his career ranked fourth with 53 walks. His two hits were his 49^th and 50^th of the season.
- Hudson also tallied a pair of hits while adding a run scored and an RBI.
- Childers was 1-for-3 with a home run, two runs scored, and a pair of RBIs. His hit was his 55^th of the season, and the most on the team; it is also the fourth most in the Division era for Queens. His home run was his 12^th, which ranks third in a single season and second in the Division I era.
- Wong was 1-for-4 with two RBIs, a run scored, and a walk.
- Booker, Mathay, and Suppa all registered two walks each and a run scored each.
 
NEXT UP
The 2027 season.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
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