HOBOKEN, N.J. (February 26, 2017)  – Senior Zeph Walters went 3-for-4 with a long home run and freshman Shaye Bartnick had two hits and an RBI, but the Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team fell to Rowan University, 7-4, at Dobbelaar Field Sunday afternoon.

After falling behind 4-0 and 7-2, the Ducks scored two runs and brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth, but reliever Andrew Cohen struck out sophomore Carlos Leon with runners on second and third to end the game.

Alex Kokos reached base three times and drove in two and Steve Hewa had a key RBI double for Rowan, who was playing its season opener. Following Stevens' 2017 opener against Kean, the Ducks have been the inaugural 2017 matchup for four straight opponents. 

Rowan scored three times in the first off sophomore Danny Poidomani (0-2). Kokos led the game off with a walk and moved to third on Matt Jolly's one-out double. Designated hitter Joe Sadler plated the second baseman with a sacrifice fly for the game's first run. Jason Clapper walked and stole second and Hewa followed with a long double down the right field line, scoring Clapper and Jolly. The Profs stole eight bases on the afternoon.

Poidomani settled down after the shaky first to complete four innings in his second career start. The left-hander struck out four and walked two. 

On a blustery afternoon, Rowan starter Rob Grilli (1-0) breezed through the first three innings, allowing only a single to senior Michael Mule', who was thrown out at second trying to advance. The right-hander kept Stevens off the board until Walters' fourth-inning blast to center field. 

Stevens finally reached Grilli for an extended rally in the fifth. Mule' walked and moved to second on Bartnick's solid single to left. The runners advanced on freshman Alex Dailey's sacrifice bunt. With a chance to get back into the game, head coach Kristaps Aldins sent out David Ferrara to pinch hit, which prompted a pitching change from Rowan. 

Danny Serreino came on to relieve and promptly struck out Ferrara. However, the wildness the relief pitcher displayed his warmup tosses carried over into his battle with Leon, as the tall righty bounced a pitch in front of Hewa, scoring Mule' from third. Serreino responded by striking out the Stevens third baseman to end the rally.

Rowan would touch relievers Chandler Brierley and Charlie Ruegger for single runs in the eighth and ninth innings to open a 7-2 lead, but the Ducks' bats woke in the ninth, as Stevens attempted a near-implausible rally.

Walters lead off the final frame with a ground-rule double to left field. Freshman Patrick Rood slapped a single to left. Mule' flied out to center but the swirling winds prevented the ball from carrying deep enough to score Walters from third. Rood moved to second on a passed ball and Bartnick scored a run with an RBI single. Pinch-hitter P.J. Wiegartner worked a one-out walk and pinch-hitter Donny Gherardi produced an RBI groundout for the second run of the frame.

Graduate student Bridger Cohen fired his second scoreless outing of the season. 

Up Next: Stevens welcomes New Jersey City University to Hoboken for a non-conference game Wednesday afternoon.

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