Bats Come Alive As Baseball Sets Five Team Records In 26-0 Rout Of Mount St. Vincent

4/5/2010 12:00:00 AM

HOBOKEN, N.J. (April 5, 2010) – The Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team broke five team records en route to a 26-0 victory over visiting College of Mount St. Vincent at Dobbelaar Field in Hoboken, N.J., setting new single game marks in runs (26), hits (26), RBI (26), homeruns (5), and total bases (47). Stevens, now 10-13 on the season, scored in all but one inning, with 14 Ducks recording hits. The Dolphins move to 9-13 on the year with the loss.

“I think we got the bats going this weekend (against Ithaca College), and it carried over to today,” said head coach John Crane. “Everyone contributed up and down the lineup. We had a couple of guys, who had been struggling, but they've got it going now and (they) put together some good at-bats. Our guys just swung the bats (well) and it was certainly a fun game and we hope we'll have some left over for Wednesday.”

Freshman Matt Rodgers, sophomores Tom Phillips and Corey Linden , and reigning Empire 8 Player of the Week Kenneth Meerendonk led the team with three hits apiece.

Juniors Mike Pagliaro and Russ Grimes, senior Mark Rasulo, and freshman Tyler Courter each had two hits, with T.J. Alcorn, Mike Caruso, Chris Daniele, Chris Coutros, Shawn Dorman, and Cory Stryker each recording a hit.

Courter drove in a team-high five runs, while Phillips pushed across four. Coutros, Rodgers, and Meerendonk each finished with three RBI.

Not to be outdone, the Stevens pitching corps surrendered just three hits en route to the shutout win. Starter Chris Tucci earned his first collegiate victory, carrying a no-hitter into the sixth, allowing just one hit, while striking out five. Relievers Rudy Morin, Craig Leopold, and Kevin Mathews combined to pitch the final three-innings, allowing just two hits, while striking out two.

Sophomore Christian Lavery (Westbury, N.Y.), junior Danny Watson (Queens, N.Y.), and senior Joe Blackford (Stewartsville, N.J.) recorded the Dolphins' lone hits.

Stevens struck early and often, kicking things off with a five run first. With runners on first and second with one out, Grimes doubled to right center, plating the game's first two runs. Alcorn then drew a walk before Linden singled to left center, scoring Grimes. A Rodgers ground ball would push across another run, before a two-out Courter RBI single to right center made it 5-0 Ducks.

With Rasulo on and one out in the second, Meerendonk lifted a pitch over the right centerfield fence to extend the margin to seven. Stevens tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the third, on a Rodgers' RBI single to center, and a Rasulo two-out base hit to left center – which drove in Phillips and Courter.

The Ducks loaded the bases in the fourth with one out, setting things up for a Phillips grand slam to right center, making it 14-0. Grimes later got things started in a six-run fifth, with a one-out double to right center. After an Alcorn hit-by-pitch, Linden notched an infield single, loading the bases before Rodgers ripped a single to right scoring Grimes.

Courter then stepped to the plate, smashing another grand slam, over the right field wall to put Stevens up 19 before Meerendonk capped off the inning with a two-out RBI single to center. Lavery broke up Tucci's no-hit bid in the top of the sixth, but Stevens would add two more in the seventh on a Pagliaro two-run blast to right center that plated also Coutros.

With one-out in the Ducks' eighth Dorman notched the record-setting single – Stevens' 22nd hit of the evening. Caruso then tallied base-knock to center before Coutros belted a three-run homerun to right center. Pagliaro later doubled to left and after a Daniele single moved him to third, Stryker lifted a sacrifice fly to right, setting Stevens' runs record, surpassing 1972 season's total against the Pratt Institute.

Stevens returns to action on Wednesday, April 7 against Gwynedd-Mercy College.
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