Ryan Birkenstock went 4-for-5 with two doubles, five RBI and a run scored in a 13-8 win over Staten Island.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. (April 27, 2006) – Less than 24 hours after being no-hit in a 2-0 loss to Centenary College, the Ducks’ offense found its groove once again as Stevens Institute of Technology pounded out 18 hits during a 13-8 victory over the College of Staten Island at the CSI Baseball Complex in Staten Island, N.Y.  With the win, Stevens improved to 25-8 on the year and tied the school record for wins in a season, which was set just last year when the Ducks went 25-15.

Dropped to eighth in the batting order, junior pitcher/infielder Ryan Birkenstock (Smithville, N.J.) had a huge game as he went 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles, five RBI and a run scored.  Senior pitcher/outfielder Gerard Moreno (Bogota, N.J.) had two hits, scored two runs and tied his own school record with five stolen bases.  Moreno also had five steals against Maritime College on March 25.  The previous record of four stolen bases in a game was set five other times in the 101-year history of the program.

Stevens also equaled the school’s single-season mark for runs batted in (222).  The record was originally set during the Ducks’ run to the NCAA tournament in 2002.  The 2006 squad is also closing in on the all-time record for runs in a season.  Stevens has scored 250 runs so far this year.  The 2002 team tallied 253 runs in 43 games.

On Thursday, the Ducks pushed across a run in the top of the first inning on an RBI double by freshman pitcher/outfielder Joe Gunshor (Ridgefield, Conn.).  Moreno drilled an RBI single in the second to put Stevens in front 2-1.  Birkenstock drove in his first run of the game with an RBI single in the third to put the Ducks up 3-2.

Leading 4-3 in the sixth inning, Stevens exploded for four runs.  Senior outfielder Tim Meehan (Hawthorne, N.J.) led off with a single and then stole second.  Junior pitcher/infielder Adam Sandt (Allentown, Pa.) followed with an RBI single.  After a single by sophomore infielder John Frustaci (Franklin Lakes, N.J.), the Ducks pulled off a double steal to put runners at second and third with no outs.

Gunshor extended the lead to 6-3 with an RBI single to left field then stole second.  Birkenstock plated Frustaci and Gunshor with a two-run single with two outs.

Staten Island worked its way back into the game with a pair of runs in the sixth and seventh.  Leading 8-7 in the eighth inning, Stevens pushed across three big runs on an RBI double by Birkenstock and a two-run single by Meehan.  The Ducks tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the ninth on another RBI double by Birkenstock and an error by Dolphins’ sophomore second baseman Mohammad Hamad (Staten Island, N.Y.).

Meehan was 4-for-5 in the game with two RBI, two runs scored and a pair of stolen bases.  Frustaci had two hits, two runs scored and a stolen base.  Gunshor went 3-for-4 with a double, two RBI, two runs scored, two walks and a stolen base.  Sophomore pitcher Armando Suarez (Long Valley, N.J.) improved to 2-0 on the season as he allowed four hits and three runs (only one earned) in five innings.

Hamad had two hits and two RBI for Staten Island, which had its three-game win streak come to an end.  Freshman outfielder Anthony Piccirillo (Staten Island, N.Y.) was 2-for-5 with a triple, RBI and a stolen base.  Sophomore pitcher Jon Reyes (Staten Island, N.Y.) was saddled with the loss as he gave up 10 hits, seven runs and four walks in five innings.  Reyes fell to 4-6 on the year with the loss.

Stevens will hit the road on Saturday for an important Skyline Conference doubleheader against Farmingdale State University.  The first game is slated for noon in Farmingdale, N.Y.