HOBOKEN, N.J. (March 29, 2009) – Junior outfielder Russ Grimes went 5-for-8 and tallied six runs batted in as the Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team split its doubleheader against St. John Fisher College on the second day of Empire 8 play in Hoboken, N.J. on Sunday afternoon. Grimes blasted a pair of homeruns, including a grand slam in Game 1 to help lift the Ducks to a 17-16 victory. But it was junior centerfielder Mark Rasulo's grand slam in the bottom of the seventh that gave the Ducks new life. Stevens fell in the nightcap 10-3, as a total of four grand slams were recorded on the day, en route to a total of 11 homers combined by both squads. The Ducks improve to 10-9 on the year as Fisher stands at 9-6 overall.
Game 1 – Stevens 17, Fisher 16
After falling behind 11-0 through 2.5 innings, the Ducks rallied back in Game 1 to send it into extra innings to come away with an exciting 17-16 win. Down by four and with their backs against the wall, it was do or die Stevens as the squad had three outs remaining to produce a four-run rally. Following a pitching change by the Cardinals, junior infielder Eddie Daniele started the inning off having been hit by the pitch. Senior first baseman Dan Silva advanced Daniele to second on a single to right field. It was then junior outfielder Anthony Andrews that loaded the bases after he was struck by a pitch.
Following the second pitching change of the inning, the next batter for the Ducks went down on strikes. With one out and the basses juiced, Rasulo launched his fifth homer of the season and his first grand slam of his collegiate career to tie the ball game at 14-all. The inning ended when sophomore infielder Ken Meerendonk lifted a high fly ball to right field for a long third out. The ball missed clearing the fence by just five feet as sophomore outfielder Phil Pettinella (Batavia, N.Y.) came down with it.
In the top of the eighth, junior infielder Kevin Wing (Webster, N.Y.) led things off with a single through the right side. Wing then stole second just before Pettinella drew a walk. With men on first and second, the Ducks called upon their bullpen as sophomore pitcher Kyle Hanas came in for freshman T.J. Griffin. Freshman infielder Steve Karnyski (Lancaster, N.Y.) went down on strikes, however Pettinella and Wing moved up 90 feet on a double steal attempt. The ensuing batter, freshman catcher Ryan Shaughnessy (Pittsford, N.Y.) singled into right field to drive in Wing. With men on the corners and one out, freshman infielder Teagen Barresi (Lasing, N.Y.) lined into a double play as Silva stuck his glove out to snag a hard liner to his left and landed on the bag to double-up Barresi and get the Ducks out of a jam.
The bottom of the eighth started off with Grimes having reached base on a single to right field. Ackermann then laid down a nice bunt towards the third base side to catch the defense sleeping as junior pitcher Geoff Martone (Chandler, Ariz.) raced off the mound and fired to first. However, the ball was to the right of the bag, out of the reach of the first baseman as it sailed into right field. Grimes was able to score from first on the play as Ackermann was awarded a single and took second on the throwing error by the pitcher. Following a groundout to the pitcher, and two consecutive intentional walks to load the bases, sophomore infielder Matt Glassman was called upon to pitch hit for freshman third baseman Chris Coutros. Glassman came through on an RBI single into left centerfield to drive in Ackermann for the winning run as the Ducks came away with Game 1, 17-16.
There was a total of eight homeruns in the first game. Pettinella notched his third of the season in his first at-bat, a solo shot to give the Cardinals an early 1-0 advantage. He then blasted the first of three grand slams of the contest to give Fisher a commanding 11-0 lead. Freshman second baseman Tom Phillips drilled his third collegiate homerun, a three-run shot in the bottom of the third to post the first three runs for Stevens. In the fifth, Ackermann tallied a homer to right field to plate a pair of runs and cut the deficit to six (12-6).
In the top of the sixth, freshman Matt Klock (Grand Island, N.Y.) knocked his third collegiate homer, which was a two-run blast to bring the scoring margin back up to eight. The best offensive inning the Ducks manufactured was in the sixth as Stevens recorded five to the board. Following an RBI single by Phillips, Grimes launched a grand slam to close on the scoring gap and bring the Ducks within four (15-11).
Pettinella led the Cardinals in Game 1 with six RBI on three hits during four at-bats as he scored three times for Fisher. Wing batted 3-for-6 with a pair of RBI and three runs scored. Klock finished the contest 3-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored. Martone was tagged with the loss (1-1), after he came in during the seventh and gave up Rasulo's four-run bomb to tie the game. Freshman pitcher Jeremy Willard (Lewiston, N.Y.) started the contest and went 5.1 innings as he rendered eight earned runs on eight hits and sat down six batters on strikes.
Grimes led Stevens with five RBI, to finish 3-for-5 with three runs scored. Phillips and Rasulo each tallied four RBI, each having posted a pair of hits. Rasulo crossed the plate for Stevens three times, as Phillips came home twice. Ackermann finished 2-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored. Hanas earned the victory (3-1) as he came in the top of the eighth and rendered just a hit and struck out a batter. Sophomore Dan Anunziatta started the game and went three innings, allowed eight hits and gave up nine earned runs.
Game 2 – Fisher 10, Stevens 3
Stevens fell into an early hole in the nightcap as the Ducks trailed 5-0 after a half inning of play. The fourth grand slam of the day was recorded when Barresi cleared the bases with his deep drive to right field. Sophomore catcher Leo Fusilli (Penfield, N.Y.) plated the first run of the game when he single to through the left side score Pettinella from third. The Ducks were able to cut the deficit to three (5-2), after Glassman roped a double to left centerfield to drive in Grimes. After Glassman advanced to third on a wild pitch, Daniele registered an RBI on a groundout to the right side of the infield.
The Cardinals responded in the top of the third when a single to right field by Barresi plated Fusilli to start a three-run inning for Fisher. Junior outfielder John Quartironi (Williamson, N.Y.) then doubled to right field to drive in Gibbs as sophomore utility player Adam Bristol (Orchard Park, N.Y.) grounded out to short to score Barresi for the third run of the inning.
Grimes launched his second homerun of the day and fifth of the year over the right-field wall for the Ducks final run of the game. A Bristol homer in the fifth and a fielder's choice in the sixth plated the final run of the game as the Cardinals went on to win 10-3.
Barresi led the way for the Cardinals as he registered five RBI and batted 1.000 (4-for-4), as he scored a pair of runs in the victory. Fusilli finished 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored and an RBI, while Bristol batted 1-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored. Junior pitcher Brandon Lewis (Addison, N.Y.) threw for all seven innings to earn the victory (1-0) as he allowed just four hits and rendered three earned runs.
For the Ducks, Grimes went 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored and an RBI. Glassman and Daniele posted the other two RBI for Stevens. Freshman pitcher Vincent Vinci started the game and went 4.2 innings. He was tagged with the loss (0-2) as he gave up nine earned runs on nine hits.
This past weekend's conference games ended the Ducks 16-game homestand. Stevens will return to action against Drew University on Wednesday as the Ducks take on the Rangers in a non-conference matchup scheduled for a 3:30 start in Madison, N.J.
