Ackermann, Meerendonk Lead Baseball Past Drew, 9-4

4/14/2010 12:00:00 AM

HOBOKEN, N.J. (April 14, 2010) – Junior Denis Ackermann went 3-for-3 with two doubles and three RBI as the Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team defeated Drew University, 9-4, in a non-conference showdown on Dobbelaar Baseball Field in Hoboken, N.J. With the win the Ducks improved to 12-17 on the season heading into this weekend's four-game set with Empire 8 rival Utica College, while the Rangers fell to 5-21 overall on the year.

Fellow junior Kenneth Meerendonk finished 2-for-4 with a double and a game-high four RBI, while freshman Ryan Kiczek went 2-for-3. Sophomore shortstop Corey Linden and senior Mark Rasulo each recorded a hit.

Drew freshman Michael Bodden (Toms River, N.J.) led the way for the Rangers offensively, with a 2-for-4 outing, while senior Matt McGrath (Rutherford, N.J.) finished 1-for-3 with a run scored. Freshman Neil Cashes (Little Silver, N.J.) and sophomores Drew Obergfell (Cranford, N.J.), Peter Tuchol (Ridgewood, N.J.), and Steve DeBonis (Hamilton, N.J.) each tallied a hit for Drew – with Tuchol collecting one of two Ranger RBI on the evening.

Stevens starter Michael Donovan allowed two runs on five hits in four innings of work, while sophomore reliever T.J. Griffin – who entered the game in the fifth – retired all six batters he faced en route to his first victory of the season.

Drew's Patrick Rock (Cranston, R.I.) lasted four and two thirds, allowing five runs on six hits in the loss.

Ducks' sophomore second baseman Tim Phillips led off the first with a walk before advancing to second on a Rasulo ground-ball to short. Rock then walked sophomore T.J. Alcorn to put runners on first and second with one out.

After recording a much-needed strikeout, Rock surrendered a two-out Ackermann single to right that plated Stevens' first run of the night. Meerendonk promptly put the Ducks up three, with another two-out hit, lacing a double down the leftfield line to make it 3-0 Stevens after one.

Drew slowly battled back however, getting a run back in the top of the second on a Tuchol two-out single back up the middle before cutting it to 3-2 in the third, on a Bodden double down the leftfield line that scored Cashes – who led off the inning with a single.

After a scoreless fourth, Griffin came on for one of two, 1-2-3 innings, getting freshman Chris DelMaestro (Hillsborough, N.J.) to fly out to right, Bodden to line out to third, and sophomore Tom Murray (Brick, N.J.) to ground out to first, ending the Drew fifth.

With one-out in the Stevens half of the stanza, Rasulo ripped a double to left to put Stevens in scoring position. After a line-out to right and a walk to junior Russ Grimes, Ackermann again came through with a piece of timely hitting, doubling in both Rasulo and Grimes to make it 5-2.

Griffin came out in the sixth, striking out McGrath before getting Obergfell and Tuchol to line-out and fly-out to left and centerfield, respectively, preserving Stevens' three-run cushion.

Undaunted, the resilient Rangers chipped away, trimming the Drew deficit to one in the seventh. The Rangers tallied their first run of the inning on a DelMaestro grounder to second that scored DeBonis before Cashes crossed the plate on a wild pitch.

Hoping to keep Drew within striking distance, a charging Obergfell made diving grabs on a pair of would-be base-hits, robbing both Rasulo and Alcorn. After a Grimes walk, Ackermann launched a two-out double into the left centerfield gap, putting runners on second and third before Meerendonk notched a bloop single, scoring two and making it 7-4.

Linden later lifted a ball to right, but this time, Obergfell failed to make another diving grab, allowing Meerendonk to score. The rightfielder's ensuing throw to third to try to catch a hustling Linden veered off course, allowing the speedy Duck shortstop to cross the plate, making it 9-4 Stevens.

Ducks' freshman Mark Poinsett proceeded to work a scoreless eighth before senior Joe Finora put the wraps on the Stevens victory, sitting Drew down in order in the ninth.
Print Friendly Version