Garden City, N.Y. - In a tough non-conference test against the reigning ECC Tournament champions, the Adelphi University baseball team used a six-run second inning to pull away from Queens College, 9-5, on Tuesday at William J. Bonomo Memorial Field in Garden City.

Last spring, the Knights (6-5) won the program's first ECC Championship since 1998 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Entering today's contest, Queens was listed at No. 4 in the latest NCBWA East Region rankings.

A team already hitting close to .300 on the season, Adelphi (6-6) exploded offensively against Queens starter Evan Christopher.

In sending all nine Panthers to the plate, Joe Pellegrino sparked a six-run outburst with a two-run triple that opened the scoring. After a pair of freshmen (James Eden, Erick Duignan) reached base to turn the lineup over, fellow classmate and first-year outfielder Anthony Rigogliosi unloaded for his first collegiate roundtripper -- a three-run homer to right.

On a day when the 'Cats sent seven arms to the hill, Steven Proko opened with a scoreless first. Each pitcher was just as effective as the next.

John Carver took the second inning and struck out a pair to earn the victory in the decision. Gavin Graff and Zach Rovner were both sharp over multiple innings. Coleton Reitan shut the door over the final 2.1 innings to get the save.

All nine hitters in the starting lineup registered at least one hit to comprise a season-high-tying 14-hit afternoon for Adelphi.

Head Coach Bill Ianniciello and the Panthers now prepare for the start of conference play, which begins this weekend with a three-game set against NE10 Southwest Division rival Pace University. The series begins Friday (Mar. 15) from Pleasantville, with a 3 p.m. first pitch.