DEMOREST, Ga. (March 14, 2017)  – Freshman Eric Zickert collected two hits and scored twice and senior Michael Mule' drove in two runs but the Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team fell to Piedmont College, 5-4, Tuesday afternoon.

Freshman Patrick Rood went 2-for-4 and scored a run for Stevens, who fell to 4-5-1 on the season. Griffin Olson had two hits and Zach Langley scored twice for Piedmont, who improved to 12-8.

Off his career-best performance against RPI, starter Danny Poidomani continued his effective pitching, allowing one earned run on five hits with 11 strikeouts, but did not factor into the decision.

"Danny definitely pitched well enough to put us in a position to win," head coach Kristaps Aldins said. "Unfortunately, we just gave up too many untimely free passes, which came back to bite us."

The Ducks jumped on Piedmont starter Ryan Stewart. Zickert led off the game with a single and moved to second on a wild pitch. Shaye Bartnick continued his strong showing at the plate with an RBI single. After Zeph Walters reached on a fielder's choice, Rood doubled to put a pair of runners in scoring position and Mule' plated both with a single to left.

Piedmont rallied for three in the sixth to take a 4-3. Two of the runs came on bases-loaded walks. Six Stevens pitchers walked seven Piedmont batters. 

Stevens regained the lead in the seventh, when Zickert scored on a wild pitch after singling and stealing a base to get into scoring position.

"We did an excellent job setting the tone and putting three runs on the board ," Aldins added. "We had some great at-bats from Zickert, Bartnick, Rood, and Mule' to give us an early lead."

With Michael Falcon (0-1) on the hill, Langley worked a leadoff walk, prompting a pitching change. Quinn DiPasquale retired Griffin Olson on a sacrifice, but Tyler Burdette connected on 0-1 offering for an RBI double to give Piedmont a 5-4 lead.

Trailing by a run, the Ducks didn't go quietly in the final inning. Pinch-hitter Donny Gherardi was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a Harrison Kaye groundout. Zickert followed with a single to put runners on the corners with only one out, but Buddy Green induced a double-play ball from A.J. Falconite to earn his third save.

"We put ourselves in a position to tie and/or win the game in the ninth," Aldins reflected. It was good to see our guys rally."

Michael Henderson (1-0) pitched one inning to earn his first win of the season.
Up Next: The Ducks head to Montgomery, Alabama for a Wednesday afternoon matchup with Huntingdon College. First pitch scheduled for 4:00 p.m. (CST). 

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