LA GRANGE, Ga. (March 16, 2017)  – Freshman Eric Zickert collected two hits and Shaye Bartnick had an RBI double, but the Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team fell at No. 7/No. 9 LaGrange College, 11-1, Thursday. 

Graduate student Bridger Cohen fired three scoreless innings for the Ducks, but LaGrange scored three times in the first off starter Quinn DiPasquale (1-1) and four times off two Stevens relievers to build a 7-1 lead as the Ducks dropped their third straight game.

"We fell behind early again," head coach Kristaps Aldins said. "[Bridger] Cohen did a great job shutting down a potent offense for three innings and allowed us to get back in the game."

After Stevens was unable to drive in Michael Mule' in the first, La Grange strung together three hits with runners in scoring position to take the lead. Tavin Thompson worked a leadoff walk and advanced to third on a passed ball and a wild pitch. With a runner on third, DiPasquale beared down and struck out Jackson Patrick. Casey Bell finally broke through with an RBI double to right center. DiPasquale struck out Blake Butcher for the second out, but Cain Sauls connected for the second RBI double of the inning, placing the ball nearly in the same area as Bell's. Blane Swift continued the inning with a walk and Chad Pigg singled to drive in the third run of the frame.

Cohen came on for the second and kept the Panthers at bay until Stevens got on the board with a two-out rally in the fifth. Zickert began the rally with an infield single and came around to score on Bartnick's RBI double. The Ducks would only collect two singles the rest of the way.

With a 3-1 lead in hand, La Grange scored four times on four hits in the bottom of the fifth to break the game open. The Panthers added three runs in the sixth and one in the seventh for the final margin of victory.

Chandler Brierley and Michael Frissora combined to allow one run (unearned) over the final 2 1-3 innings.

"Brierley and Frissora threw the ball well out of the pen," Aldins added. "Both did an excellent job challenging hitters.

English earned the win for LaGrange, allowing one hit over four innings with one strikeout. The victory was the fifth straight for the Panthers.

Up Next: The Ducks conclude their 2017 Spring Break Trip with a matchup against Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The game will be played at Oglethorpe University with first pitch scheduled for 12:00 p.m.

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