HOBOKEN, N.J. (April 3, 2011) – The Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team closed out this weekend's four-game set with Empire 8 rival St. John Fisher College with a pair of losses to the Cardinals in a doubleheader at Dobbelaar Baseball Field in Hoboken, N.J. The Ducks dropped the first game of the twinbill 7-2 before losing a heart-breaking, extra-inning affair in the nightcap 5-3.
St. John Fisher 7, Stevens 2 (7 innings)
Junior Sean Osterman (Pittsford, N.Y.) led-off the game with a double to left center before advancing to third on a ground ball to short. Fellow junior Steve Karnyski (Lancaster, N.Y.), senior Leo Fusilli (Penfield, N.Y.) and sophomore Ben Bostick (Rochester, N.Y.) then laced consecutive doubles, putting three early runs on the board. The Cardinals would tack on two more runs before the final out of the inning, coming across on a wild pitch and error to make it 5-0 St. John Fisher.
Hoping to chip away at the lead, the Ducks pushed across its first run in the bottom half of the third, when Meerendonk lifted a sacrifice fly to left, scoring junior Ryan Kiczek – who reached on a lead-off double. With two outs and junior Tom Phillips on third, Ackermann ripped a single to left center, pulling Stevens within three.
After tossing five stellar, shutout, no-hit innings to keep the Ducks within striking distance, Stevens Timothy Griffin finally surrendered a pair of runs – both unearned – on a single to center and another Ducks error.
Kizcek and senior Russ Grimes each finished 1-for-3, while junior Matt Glassman and sophomore Michael Donovan each went 1-for-2. Stevens starter Chris Tucci allowed five runs on four hits in the loss, while Griffin gave the Ducks six-strong innings, surrendering just two hits, striking out four with no walks.
Six different Cardinals recorded a hit in the game, led by Karnyski, Fusilli, and Bostick who all finished 1-for-3 with an RBI. Junior righthander Josh Cox (Watertown, N.Y.) went five and a third in the win, scattering five hits and allowing just two runs.
St. John Fisher 5, Stevens 3 (9 innings)
Fisher got off to another fast start in game two, posting two runs in the first. With one out, the Cardinals strung together consecutive singles before Fusilli doubled in the game's first run. Karnyski, who advanced to third on Fusilli's base-knock, would later score on Bostick's RBI ground-out to second.
Hoping to get the Ducks back on track, Phillips singled to right to lead-off the bottom half of the stanza, before Meerendonk laced a double to right center, as Phillips came all the way around to score on a Fisher error in the outfield.
After a Cardinals' RBI-sacrifice fly in the third made it 3-1, the Ducks started to chip away, pushing across a score in both the fifth and sixth innings to deadlock the game. With two outs and Kiczek on second in the fifth, Phillips singled to left, to pare the Ducks' deficit to one. Needing another run in the sixth, junior Corey Linden got another big two-out hit, driving in the game-tying score with an RBI-single to center.
Still knotted at three after a couple of extra-innings, St. John Fisher finally broke through in the ninth, plating two go-ahead runs. Senior Ross Langevin (Liverpool, N.Y.) put the Cardinals ahead with a one-out, RBI-double down the left field line, before freshman Chris Roeder (Victor, N.Y.) later singled in an insurance run making it 5-3.
Trying to mount another comeback, Stevens put the lead-off runner aboard in the bottom of the ninth, but Fisher junior reliever Tim Sylvester (Rush, N.Y.) quickly induced a taylor-made double play, securing the Cardinals' victory.
Phillips finished 3-for-4 with an RBI and run scored, while Linden went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Meerendonk, Grimes and Kizcek accounted for the rest of the Ducks' eight hits. Donovan scattered seven hits, surrendering three runs in the start, while senior Kyle Hanas allowed two runs on a pair of hits in the loss.
Karnyski went 2-for-4 with a run scored in the win, while Fusilli and Roeder each went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Junior starter Tim Johnson (Williamson, N.Y.) allowed just one run on three hits in four innings of work, while Sylvester struck out four, giving up just three hits in four innings en route to his first victory of the season.
