MADISON, N.J. (May 15, 2010) – Senior Mark Rasulo had a pair of hits and four RBI but the Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team fell to Fairleigh Dickinson University – Florham in the 2010 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Metro Tournament semifinals in Madison, N.J. The Ducks conclude the year with a 21-19 overall mark, while the Devils improved to 33-10 on the year.
FDU-Florham put the pressure on early scoring a pair of runs in the first. Junior Dan Pregno (Stanhope, N.J.) – who reached on a hit-by-pitch – scored the game's first run on sophomore Steven Seminerio's (East Hanover, N.J.) triple. The East Hanover, N.J. native would later cross the plate on senior Joey Santillo's (Budd Lake, N.J.) grounder to short.
The Devils struck again in the third, putting two aboard with back-to-back singles, before plating a pair of runs on a Stevens' error. FDU-Florham doubled the margin in the bottom half of the fourth, scoring four runs on five hits. Junior Alex Sariyan (Oakland, N.J.) started things off with a triple – later scoring on Pregno's one-out RBI single. Pregno then came home to score following two straight Devils' base-hits, before a hit-by-pitch followed by a Greg Geran (Brick, N.J.) single scored two more, making it 8-0.
Stevens finally got on the board in the fifth when senior Anthony Andrews – who reached on an error – scored on sophomore Tom Phillips' two-out single. The Ducks continued to pare into the FDU-Florham advantage, tallying three runs on three hits in the top of the seventh. Andrews – who again reached on a Devils' error – touched home on a Ryan Kiczek double.
After Phillips drew a two-out walk, Rasulo singled home Kiczek to make it 8-3. Junior Ken Meerendonk then ripped another two-out single, scoring Phillips to trim the Ducks' deficit to four, but FDU-Florham plated their ninth run in the bottom half of the frame on a Pregno RBI single before scoring three more runs in the eighth on a Sariyan double.
A Michael Donovan single and a Phillips walk led-off the Stevens' ninth, setting the table for Rasulo's three-run homerun – his fourth of the season – making it 12-7, but FDU-Florham would silence the Stevens' bats the rest of the way, advancing to the ECAC Metro Tournament final with a five-run victory.
Rasulo finished 2-for-5 with a homerun and four RBI, while Phillips went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Meerendonk had three hits and an RBI on the day, while Russ Grimes, Denis Ackermann, Corey Linden, Kiczek, and Donovan each recorded a hit.
Seminerio and Pregno each went 3-for-5 to lead the Devils offensively, with Pregno collecting two RBI. Sariyan notched a pair of hits on the day, while pushing across three FDU-Florham runs.
Meerendonk lasted just three and a third in the loss, surrendering eight runs on nine hits, while Devils' junior starter Fred Luchetti (Brick, N.J.) tossed seven and two third, allowing just two earned runs on seven hits in the win.
