HOBOKEN, N.J. – Sophomore shortstop Adam Sandt (Allentown, Pa./William Allen) went 4-for-5 with a home run to lead Stevens Institute of Technology to an 8-2 win over Centenary College on Saturday in the winners’ bracket of the Skyline Conference baseball tournament. Stevens advanced without a loss to the championship round which will be held on Sunday at noon at St. Joseph’s (L.I.). The Ducks will play Centenary, which eliminated St. Joseph's on Saturday evening. The Cyclones will need to win twice to capture the title.
Stevens (25-13) never trailed in the game. Junior center fielder Tim Meehan (Hawthorne, N.J./Hawthorne) put the Ducks on top 1-0 with a home run in the bottom of the first inning. Stevens took advantage of two Centenary errors in the bottom of the second inning in extending its lead to 2-0.
After Centenary (20-17) closed to within 2-1 on a solo home run by shortstop Todd Sigafoos in the top of the third inning, Stevens answered with a two-run home run by Sandt in the bottom half of the inning.
Sophomore third baseman Ryan Birkenstock (Smithville, N.J./Absegami) drove in two runs with a double in the fifth to extend the Stevens lead to 6-1.
Stevens received a strong effort from junior right-hander Gerard Moreno (Bogota, N.J./Bogota) who scattered six hits over seven innings in improving to 6-2. Moreno struck out four and walked just one. Both runs he allowed came on home runs. Senior left fielder Nigel Archibald added a solo home run in the top of the sixth. Freshman right-hander Chris Burgess (Palisades Park, N.J./Palisades Park) finished up with two scoreless innings.
Birkenstock and freshman designated hitter John Frustaci (Franklin Lakes, N.J./Paramus Catholic) had two hits apiece for Stevens. Sigafoos, Archibald and catcher Matt Hoffman led Centenary with two hits apiece.
In the fourth game of the tournament, St. Joseph’s-Patchogue eliminated Manhattanville 6-4. The Golden Eagles overcame a late 2-1 deficit with two runs in the top of the seventh and three in the eighth. First baseman Jason Rudilosso and center fielder Dan Quinn had back-to-back RBI doubles in the seventh to give the Golden Eagles a 3-2 lead.
Right fielder Edis Delgado, who had a two-run single in the eighth, came home on a double steal to increase the St. Joseph’s lead to 6-2.
Manhattanville pulled to within 6-4 with two runs in the bottom of the ninth. But St. Joseph’s senior right-hander Vincent Coppola struck out the final two batters with runners on second and third to preserve the win.
In the fifth game of the tournament, left-hander Ryan Medina tossed a complete game six-hitter to lead Centenary to a 5-2 win over St. Joseph's.
Centenary scored all of the runs that it would need in the bottom of the first inning. Sigafoos, who homered against Stevens, hit a two-run homer to stake the Cyclones to a 2-0 lead. Third baseman Brandon Perrine scored the third run on a two-out error.
St. Joseph's answered in the top of the second when first baseman Jason Rudilosso belted a two-run homer to left field to bring the Golden Eagles within 3-2. But Medina gave up just four hits over the final seven innings. St. Joseph's had the bases loaded with no outs in the top of the fifth, but Medina worked out of trouble by getting a strikeout, infield fly and a flyout to end the threat.
Centenary added two runs in the bottom of the fourth on RBI singles by designated hitter Pat Cassidy and right fielder Chris Felix.
