HOBOKEN, N.J. (April 2, 2016) – The Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team topped Ithaca College 9-3 in the first game of the doubleheader before falling 13-4 in the nightcap on Saturday.
The split moved the Ducks to 14-9 and 6-1 in the Empire 8 Conference, Ithaca is now 8-9 and 1-1 in the E8.
GAME 1 (Stevens 9, Ithaca 3)Stevens started the scoring early, pushing two runs across in the top of the first. After a leadoff walk to senior
Jayson Yano, junior
Garrett Wells knocked him with a double, and Wells would come around to score on a sacrifice fly by classmate
Zeph Walters.
The Bombers got a run back in the second, taking advantage of four straight walks to cut the lead in half. In the fourth, Ithaca evened the game on a ground-out, taking advantage of a Walters error to leadoff the inning. The Ducks took the lead back on a ribbie single by freshman
Carlos Leon in the fourth, but gave up lead in the fifth on another run-producing groundout.
The Ducks exploded for six runs in the sixth, as junior
Nolan Bennett and Walters delivered back-to-back homers to open the inning. After loading the bags on a pair of free passes and a bunt single, freshman
Matthew Pasko delivered a sac fly to right to extend the lead to three. Yano would deliver the big blow, a three-run jack to right to break the game open. The Bombers would go down in order in the seventh, as senior
Danny McIntyre did not allow a baserunner.
Senior
Jonathan Toro led the Ducks with two hits, whole Yano knocked home three runs. Senior
Bret Viola tossed five innings out of the bullpen, giving four hits but only two runs to earn his second win of the season.
GAME 2 (Ithaca 13, Stevens 4)Ithaca used the short-porch in right field to their advantage in game two, clubbing five homeruns, starting with one in the first inning by the second batter Ryan Dougherty. Walters answered back with an RBI single of his own in the bottom of the first to even things up. Benji Parkes of Ithaca and senior
Robert Robbins of Stevens traded zeros over the next three innings, until the fourth.
After getting the first out, Ryan Henchey hit a solo home run to right center and Matt Carey hit a run-scoring groundout. Things unraveled in the fifth, as Andrew Bailey hit a grand slam to right center; the Ducks had retired the first two hitters of the inning. Stevens cut into the lead in the sixth, as Bennett walked and Walters hit his second home run of the day bringing the gap to four.
The Bombers tacked on five more runs in the eighth on a pair of home runs, and one more in the ninth on an RBI double to conclude the slugfest.
Walters and Yano collected two hits apiece, while senior
Greg Jakusik rebounded from a tough start in game one to toss 2 1/3 shutout innings of relief in the nightcap. Senior
Bridger Cohen threw a shutout inning, striking two of the three batters he faced.
The two teams will do it again tomorrow in the rubber game of the three-game series; first pitch is 3 p.m.
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