Baseball Bounces Back To Earn Series Split With Ithaca

4/10/2011 12:00:00 AM

ITHACA, N.Y. (April 10, 2011) – Junior Ryan Kiczek had a pair of hits and four runs-batted-in on the day as the Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team (6-17) earned a series split with nine-time Empire 8 champion Ithaca College at Freeman Field in Ithaca, N.Y. With their comeback bid falling short in game one – a 5-4 loss – the Ducks regrouped and rebounded in the nightcap, erupting for 10 runs in a decisive 10-3 victory.

Game 1: Ithaca 5, Stevens 4
After a scoreless first, the Bombers got on the board in the bottom of the second, scoring three runs on four hits. Senior Trevor Wolf (Freeville, N.Y.) and junior Teagen Barresi (Lansing, N.Y.) got the inning started with consecutive doubles, plating the game's first run, before a single to short followed by a fielder's choice and throwing error made it 2-0 Ithaca. Junior Matt Keller (Pelham, N.Y.) capped off the inning with an RBI single through the left side.

Hoping to extend their lead after three scoreless frames, the Bombers struck again in the sixth, pushing across a pair of runs on three hits. With a runner on third and one out, senior Rob Zappia (Rochester, N.Y.) singled to right center, driving in Ithaca's fourth tally. With two aboard and two out, Keller later singled through the right side to give the Bombers a five-run cushion heading into the final inning.

Looking to rally Stevens put the first two lead-off runners on to start the seventh before Kiczek stepped in and belted a three-run shot to left, suddenly pulling the Ducks within two. With two on and two out, Russ Grimes ripped a double down the left field line, scoring senior Mike Pagliaro, who reached on a walk, but Ithaca sophomore reliever Jasper Adams (Amherst, Mass.) quickly induced a ground out to second to close out Stevens' come-from-behind bid.

Kiczek finished 1-for-3 with a homer and three RBI, while Grimes went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Senior Kenneth Meerendonk, junior Corey Linden, and Pagliaro each added a hit in the loss. Ducks' starter Tyler Courter tossed all six innings for Stevens, allowing five runs – four earned – on eight hits.

Keller led Ithaca with two hits and two RBI, while Barresi went 2-for-3 with an RBI and run scored. Zappia finished 2-for-3 with two RBI and run scored. Senior Aaron Sapp (Niskayuna, N.Y.) went six and a third in the start for the Bombers, allowing four runs on five hits in the win, while Adams recorded the final two outs in the seventh, surrendering just one hit in the save.

Game 2: Stevens 10, Ithaca 3
Hoping to rebound, Stevens wasted no time getting on the board in game two, pushing across a pair of runs in the first on Meerendonk's two-run shot to left center. The Ducks would tack on another run in the second on a Pagliaro one-out double to left center, scoring junior Matt Glassman, but Ithaca responded with a run in the bottom half of the stanza to make it 3-1.

After a scoreless third, Stevens added another tally in the fourth on junior Tom Phillips' one-out base-knock through the right side, before adding three more runs in the fifth on four hits. Grimes got things started with a lead-off single to right before advancing to second on senior catcher Denis Ackermann's nicely placed sacrifice bunt. With two outs, Glassman later doubled down the left field line, scoring Grimes, before Kiczek notched another big two-out double to make it 6-1. Pagliaro capped off the inning by driving in the Stevens' seventh score on a third-consecutive two out base-hit.

Ahead 8-3 after six, the Ducks closed out scoring with two runs in the top half of the seventh, plating two scores on an RBI fielders' choice and an Ithaca error to secure the 10-3 victory.

Phillips finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI, while Meerendonk was 2-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored. Glassman finished 1-for-2 with two RBI and three runs scored, while Pagliaro added two hits and two RBI. Stevens senior Dan Anunziatta tossed five strong innings, allowing just two runs on six hits, while reliever Craig Leopold pitched two innings, surrendering one run on a pair of hits.

Third baseman David Ahonen (Farmington, N.Y.) and senior Matt Streich (East Greenwich, R.I.) each finished 2-for-4, while Keller and Zappia combined for a pair of hits and RBI. Senior righthander Andrew Wall (Newfield, N.Y.) lasted just two thirds of an inning, allowing two runs on one hit in the loss.
Print Friendly Version