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Garden City, N.Y. - The Adelphi University baseball team used a four-run seventh inning rally to defeat Dowling College 6-3 in non-conference action at William J. Bonomo Field on Tuesday. The Panthers mustered timely hitting, heads-up baserunning and shutdown relief pitching late in the game, allowing them to improve to 2-0 on the season. The Golden Lions held a 3-1 through five and a half innings, but fell victim to Adelphi's late surge to slide to 2-2 overall.

For Adelphi, freshman Vincent Sharkey had three hits, reached base five times and scored the winning run on a wild pitch in his first collegiate start. Junior Vinny Gaetano blasted a solo home run, senior Craig Matteo delivered the game-tying RBI base hit, and senior Chris Pabisch earned the win in relief with 2.1 innings of shutout baseball.

For Dowling, Joe Candela and Ian Schneider each ripped two hits including a triple for Candela, while Anthony De La Rosa was saddled with the loss in a third of an inning of relief.

Adelphi struck first in the second inning after freshman Tyler Barrett, who reached on a throwing error, scored on Matteo's long triple to the centerfield wall. The Golden Lions immediately struck back, however, as Kyle DeMeo plated Schneider with a bouncing ball up the middle in the top half of the third. Dowling tacked on a run in each of the next two innings, tagging pitcher Steve Bove for a pair of runs after he came on in relief of starting hurler Michael Carletti.

Gaetano breathed life into the Pathers in the bottom of the sixth by crushing a home run to right center, bringing Adelphi back within striking distance and setting up Pabisch to mow down the Golden Lions in order in the seventh. Revitalized, the Panthers pasted a four-spot on the visitors thanks to a game-tying single from Matteo and some aggressive baserunning. Senior Justin Farnum drew a walk to load the bases, and with Sharkey on third, De La Rosa bounced a breaking pitch that squirted away from the plate. Sharkey broke for home, but Dowling catcher Taylor Bargiacchi corralled the ball and dove to tag the dashing freshman. Sharkey collided with Bargiacchi but managed to avoid the tag, hurdle over the catcher and touch home plate, scoring what proved to be the winning run. Another wild pitch would bring Matteo home, and Farnum later scored on a line drive by sophomore Richard Mejia to give Adelphi a comfortable 6-3 lead.

Pabisch worked the next inning and a third, but a single and a walk put two Golden Lions on with one away in the ninth. Sophomore Matt Abramowitz got the call from the bullpen and put out the fire with a flyout and a groundout, earning the save and shuttling Adelphi to its second straight win to open the season.

The Panthers return to the diamond on Saturday with a non-league doubleheader against Saint Thomas Aquinas at 12 p.m.