Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

HOBOKEN, N.J. (April 28, 2013) – The Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team took three of four Empire 8 Conference games against Utica College with a split on Sunday during Senior Day at Dobbelaar Field. Stevens stumbled in Game One to Utica, 5-0, but rebounded to earn the split with a 7-5 win in Game Two. The Ducks are now 22-17 overall this season and have one game remaining on their schedule.

Game One: Utica 5, Stevens 0

Stevens struggled to produce any offense in the opener and only recorded four hits in the shutout loss. Utica starter Chris Jeffers kept the Ducks hitters off balance over six innings pitched with four strikeouts in the win.

Freshman Nicholas Sieber (Shrewsbury, Mass.) led the way offensively with two hits in four at bats, while senior Michael Donovan (Frisco, Texas) and sophomore Ryan Mannello (Staten Island, N.Y.) each picked up the other base hits in Game One.

Utica took a 3-0 lead after the second inning with four hits in the frame. The Pioneers then tacked on two more runs in the third inning on a two-run homerun by Chris Podlucky after a double from Thomas Dinnen.

Senior starter Kevin Mathews (Jackson, N.J.) was forced out of the game after three innings with eight hits and four earned runs allowed. Freshman Ryan Patterson (Staten Island, N.Y.) relieved Mathews and struck out three batters in two innings before two other freshman, Daniel McIntyre (Lakeway, Texas) and Greg Jakusik (The Woodlands, Texas), each recorded a strikeout in one inning pitched a piece.

The Ducks only had two baserunners reach second base in the loss.

Game Two: Stevens 7, Utica 5

Before the start of Game Two, Stevens honored the four seniors on the 2013 roster for their accomplishments over the past four seasons. Donovan, Mathews, Tyler Courter (Glenwood, N.J.) and Craig Leopold (Edison, N.J.) were all recognized prior to the victory.

Courter earned the start and breezed through the first inning of work by striking out the side on just 12 pitches. He lasted 4.1 innings with seven strikeouts but allowed six hits and five runs (three earned) the rest of the outing. The Pioneers scored in each of the next four frames to knock Courter out of the game in the no decision.

Offensively, Stevens scored once in the first and four runs in the second to build a 5-1 edge.

The Ducks got on the board with no outs after junior Curt Lowenstein (Egg Harbor Township, N.J.) reached on an error to lead off the frame and then freshman Jayson Yano (Foothill Ranch, Calif.) walked after stolen base from Lowenstein. Junior Dan Allen (Egg Harbor Township, N.J.) doubled down the leftfield line to plate Lowenstein for the first run of the ballgame.

In the second, Lowenstein doubled to plate freshman Jonathan Toro (Sanford, Fla.) and then scored on a single and error for Yano in the next at bat. Allen picked up his second RBI and double next to tally his 100th career hit and 40th RBI of the season. Allen then stole third and came home on a single from Donovan to cap off the inning.

Allen became just the fourth Duck to reach 40 RBI in a single season and is just five away from tying the single-season record at Stevens. He also stole two bases.

After Utica tied the game up at 5-5 in the fifth, Lowenstein broke the tie with his second base hit of the game which brought Sieber across the plate in the bottom half of the inning.

Stevens added an insurance run in the sixth on an infield single from Courter that pushed Donovan home. Donovan finished the afternoon 3-for-7 and extended his hitting streak to five games.

Allen added to his milestone afternoon with his fifth save of the season in a scoreless seventh inning with a strikeout. He now sits third on the single-season list in that category.

Junior Mark Poinsett (Ocean Gate, N.J.) earned the victory out of the bullpen with a perfect 1.2 innings pitched and two strikeouts.

The Ducks take on New Jersey City University on May 1 at 8 p.m. to close out the regular season and will then find out of they will participate in the ECAC Metro Championship in mid May.