LYNDHURST, N.J. – Freshman center fielder Jason Polgano (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) singled to break a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the seventh inning and he and his Felician College teammates added four more runs in the eighth as the Golden Falcons earned an 8-3 non-conference victory over visiting St. Thomas Aquinas College on a frigid Wednesday afternoon at the Lyndhurst Recreation Complex.

St. Thomas Aquinas (3-4-1) is the No. 4-ranked team in the most recent NCAA Division II East Region writers' poll. Felician (6-13) was playing its 2015 home opener.

With the game tied, 3-3, Felician sophomore Andrew LaMura (Brick, N.J./Red Bank Catholic) led off the home half of the seventh with an infield single. Matt Kleinstein (Marlboro, N.J./Colts Neck) sacrificed LaMura to second base, and Polgano followed with a ground-ball single through the right side.

The Golden Falcons tacked on four more runs in the eighth. After the hosts loaded the bases with no one out, STAC reliever John Bednarek (Cinnaminson, N.J./Cinnaminson) (1-1) induced two forced plays at the plate. But Polgano worked a walk to bring home Gerard De Filippo (East Hanover, N.J./DePaul Catholic), and sophomore second-baseman Rob Fisher (Matawan, N.J./St. John Vianney) followed with a two-run single. Polgano capped the rally by scoring on a short wild pitch.

Senior right-hander Matthew Facendo (Hazlet, N.J./Raritan) (1-0), the third Felician pitcher of the afternoon, earned the victory with two innings of scoreless, one-hit relief. The Golden Falcon pitching staff combined to strike out 12 batters on the day, and survived issuing nine walks. The Spartans left 14 runners on base.

Polgano finished 2 for 4 with two runs scored and two RBI, and LaMura and Matt Diesel (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) also had two hits apiece. Senior shortstop Branden Shaw (Cooper City, Fla./Plantation) blasted an RBI triple, his Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference-leading fifth three-bagger of the season.

Rich Baerga (Pomona, N.Y./Pendleton) was 3 for 5 and leadoff man Joseph Pena (Brooklyn, N.Y./Perkiomen School) was on base five times for STAC.

Felician continues its homestand by taking on Queens (N.Y.) College on Thursday at 1 p.m. at Lyndhurst Recreation.