Prior to that, the Ducks knocked off Bethany Lutheran College 6-5, dropping the Vikings record to 0-9. The loss was the first of the season for Olivet (10-1), while the 2-0 day moved Stevens to 5-3.

Stevens 6, Bethany Lutheran 5

Junior Brianna Sandone ran into trouble in the first after walking the first two batters of the game, but recovered with three straight groundouts to end the threat without allowing a run. The Ducks capitalized on the momentum in their half of the inning when freshman Emily Sellitti blasted a two-run double over the leftfielders head to score junior Jamie DeGennaro and senior Stephanie Senkevich.

Bethany Lutheran got one run back in the second, and another in the fourth when Gena Chester singled to left to score Rebecca Ludewig. Sandone settled down in the fifth though, retiring the side in order

Stevens regained the lead in the fifth when senior Danielle DeFeo sparked a Stevens rally with a leadoff walk, and scored off a DeGennaro double. The Vikings tried to answer in the sixth after putting runners on first and second with one out, but Sandone struck-out Amanda Sletten before inducing a groundball to end the inning and preserve the lead.

The Ducks secured some insurance in the sixth with three runs off an RBI single from Syndey Spitz to score freshman Kelly Klewicki, followed by a balk from Shannon Heitz to score freshman Amanda DiLeo.  Spitz capped the inning by scoring on a wild-pitch to give Stevens the 6-2 lead.

The Vikings didn't go down quietly scoring three runs in the seventh off three hits highlighted by a Ludewig single to bring them to within one. Sandone worked herself out of the trouble once again though, inducing a fly-out to end the game with runners on first and second.

The win was the team-leading third of the year for Sandone, as she struck out three and stranded 10.

Stevens 3, Olivet 2

Olivet threated in the second after back-to-back singles from Terri Hurosky and Lauren Lenard with one out, but Berardi bounced-back with two strikeouts to end the inning. Berardi easily navigated through the lineup in the third, and stranded a runner on second in the fourth to preserve the shut-out.

The Ducks struggled offensively against Olivet ace Ashlynn Grubb who came into the game sporting a 4-0 record, but rallied in the fifth after a one out single from junior Noelle Mulligan. A wild pitch moved Mulligan to second, but Stevens was unable to capitalize as Berardi popped-up to end the inning.

In the sixth, Alyssa Nielsen reached on an error to lead-off and was bunted over to second, but Berardi elevated her game once again and struck out Jessica Palumbo to strand another runner in scoring position.

Stevens rallied in their half of the sixth after sophomore Gavriella Risman-Jones and freshman Jessica Rees reached with no one out, but Grubb responded, retiring three straight including two strikeouts. Olivet came right back in the seventh with a runner on second and two outs, but Klewicki unleashed a cannon from right to DeGennaro who blocked the plate perfectly to tag Christine Wood and preserve the shutout.

Both teams traded zeroes in the seventh and eighth before Olivet pushed across the go-ahead run in the ninth with a single off the bat of Shannon Huntley. The Ducks answered though when DeGennaro ripped a ground-rule double to score Klewicki and tie the game.

Stevens rallied again in the tenth, putting the winning run at third with nobody out, but Grubb bared down and retired three straight to send the game to the eleventh where T. Hurosky singled home A. Nielsen for the go-ahead run. The Ducks answered once again though, with an infield single from Danielle DeFeo to tie the game.

Berardi escaped the twelfth with no damage, setting up the Ducks rally. After the extra inning rule placed Risman-Jones at second to start the inning, Klewicki moved her to third with an infield single. One batter later with two outs, Spitz popped-up a ball to short that was dropped, allowing Risman-Jones to score the winning run.

Mulligan was on base four times for the Ducks with two singles, a double and a walk while DeGennaro finished with a single and a double. The win evened Berardi's record at 2-2.

Up Next

The Ducks will wrap on their Florida trip on Friday with a 9 a.m. game against University of Wisconsin-Superior, followed by an 11 a.m. meeting with Rockford University. Live stats will be available for both games at stevensducks.com.

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