Baseball Swept By St. John Fisher

4/11/2010 12:00:00 AM

PITTSFORD, N.Y. (April 11, 2010) – The Stevens Institute of Technology wrapped up a weekend of Empire 8 play in Pittsford, N.Y., with a pair of losses to St. John Fisher College at Dugan Yard. The Ducks dropped the first game of the twinbill, 6-4, before falling in the nightcap, 12-3. With the losses, Stevens fell to 11-17 overall on the year, with a 1-7 league ledger, while the Cardinals improved to 15-8 on the season with a 4-1 mark against conference opponents.

Junior Russ Grimes and sophomore T.J. Alcorn each finished 3-for-6 on the day, while junior Ken Meerendonk and sophomore Chris Coutros each went 2-for-5. Senior Mark Rasulo and junior catcher Denis Ackermann combined for four hits and two runs scored, while senior Anthony Andrews, junior Mike Pagliaro, and sophomore Ryan Kiczek each recorded a hit.

Stevens will look to snap its four-game skid on Wednesday, April 14 against Drew University.

Game 1: St. John Fisher 6, Stevens 4
After a scoreless first, Stevens went up one in the second, plating the game's first run when Andrews reached on a fielder's choice that scored Grimes. St. John Fisher quickly responded with four runs in the bottom of the third, to take a 4-1 advantage.

Freshman Ben Bostick (Rochester, N.Y.) led-off the inning with a triple to right. Senior Kevin Wing (Webster, N.Y.) then drove Bostick home with an infield single before advancing to second on a Marc Montesano (New Hartford, N.Y.) ground-out to third.

Sophomore Steve Karnyski (Lancaster, N.Y.) plated the Cardinals' second run on a single through the right side, scoring Wing, before a Leo Fusilli (Penfield, N.Y.) triple to deep center made it 3-1. Karnyski capped off the four-run stanza, coming home on Jon Gibbs' (Pittsford, N.Y.) grounder to short.

Hoping to chip away at the deficit, Ackermann led off the Stevens' fourth with a double down the rightfield line before scoring on Meerendonk's one-out single to center. The resilient Ducks plated another run in the fifth, when Coutros – who reached on a lead-off single – scored following back-to-back Ackermann and Alcorn base-hits.

Stevens finally knotted the game at four when Cardinals reliever Geoff Martone (Gilbert, Az.) balked home Meerendonk – who was hit with a pitch before advancing to third on a Cardinals' error and an Andrews bunt single.

Undeterred, Fusilli led-off the Fisher sixth with a double to left center before a Gibbs double to left put runners on second and third. Stevens then intentionally walked sophomore Teagen Barresi (Lansing, N.Y.) to load the bases before sophomore Sean Osterman (Pittsford, N.Y.) – who was pinch hitting for junior Phil Pettinella (Batavia, N.Y.) – lined out to short for the first out.

Fusilli scored the go-ahead run on a Ross Langevin (Liverpool, N.Y.) ground-ball to second before Gibbs put the Cardinals up two, scoring on a Ducks' error.

Stevens put the tying run aboard in Grimes' two-out single through the right side in the seventh, but sophomore reliever Tim Johnson (Williamson, N.Y.) induced a game-ending pop-out to center to nail down the save.

Meerendonk finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and run scored, while Coutros went 2-for-3 with a run scored. Grimes, Alcorn, and Ackermann each notched a pair of hits, while Andrews went 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Meerendonk allowed five earned runs on eight hits in six innings of work in the loss, while Martone – who entered the game in the fifth – allowed a hit and a run, striking out four, en route to the victory.

Game 2: St. John Fisher 12, Stevens 3
St. John Fisher took an early 1-0 lead in the first on a Fusilli two-out, RBI single to center before blowing the game open with a seven run second inning. Sophomore Matt Klock (Grand Island, N.Y.) got things started, drawing a one-out walk, before advancing to second on a Jason Nevada (Rochester, N.Y.) single up the middle and scoring on a Bostick base-hit through the left side.

A bases-loaded walk followed by a Ducks' error made it 4-0. Gibbs then blasted a two-out grand slam to put the Cardinals up eight. Stevens got on the board in the fourth on a Grimes RBI triple to right center that scored Rasulo, but a pair of Fisher runs in the bottom half of the frame on a wild pitch and a Gibbs solo homer to right made it 10-1.

The Cardinals added two more runs in the fifth on a John Sheedy (Syracuse, N.Y.) double to right center before Stevens closed out the scoring with a pair of runs in the seventh.

Pagliaro, Rasulo, Alcorn, and each went 1-for-2, while Kiczek finished 1-for-1 with a run scored. Nevada and Gibbs each had two hits for the Cardinals, with Gibbs collecting five RBI. Sheedy was 1-for-1 with two RBI, while Bostick, Fusilli, and Karnyski each had a hit and an RBI.

St. John Fisher freshman starter Adam Pettinella (Batavia, N.Y.) went five-innings allowing one run on three hits in the win.
Print Friendly Version