ROCHESTER, N.Y. (May 10, 2017)  – The Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team begins its quest for the 2017 Empire 8 Conference Championship Thursday with a matchup against No. 14/No. 22 St. John Fisher at Dugan Yard in Rochester. The Ducks earned the fourth seed in the tournament after SUNY-Canton defeated Utica College Sunday.

"To be honest, the vibe around our team, including our coaching staff, is that we are just glad to be there," head coach Kristaps Aldins said. "Unfortunately, we put ourselves in a position where we were relying on some other teams' results to qualify, and fortunately, things fell our way."

The Ducks finished the 2017 regular season with an 18-21-1 record and an even 9-9 record in conference play. Stevens held victories over three nationally-ranked teams and wrapped up non-conference play with an 8-3 victory over Keystone.

"This season has been a whirlwind of ups and downs," Aldins commented. "But all along we have had confidence in this team to step up in big spots and this is exactly what we did in the 13-inning game vs. Fisher the other weekend. Looking back, this win is the one that got us into the tournament."

The Empire 8 went to a tournament format just two seasons ago. In prior years, the league champion was determined on regular season standings, The 2017 tournament champion will receive the league's first-ever automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. With a double-elimination format, winning Thursday's matchup with the hosting Cardinals would be an optimal outcome for the Ducks, as teams that fall on the first day of competition will need four-straight wins to earn the league crown.

"The last two weeks, our approach has been that each game in front of us is the most important one of the season," Aldins said. "Essentially, the last two conference weekends have all been 'must win' games. So Thursday's contest will just be a continuation of what we saw the last few weeks."

Stevens enters the four-team tournament with a 3-6 record against the field. The Ducks are 2-3 all-time in conference postseason play, including a win over St. John Fisher in 2015. Stevens has never played Elmira in the conference tournament.

"We've had several terrific wins this year, but the struggle for us has been replicating a consistent effort day-to-day," Aldins reflected. "With that being said, knowing that we incorporated as many first-year guys as we did and that we completely rebuilt our pitching staff from last year (lost 260+ innings, including two professional players) already makes the 2017 season a tremendous success. We are looking forward to giving the E8 tournament a run and seeing if all of our experiences during the regular season can translate into a championship year."

Stevens will be led on the mound by sophomore Danny Poidomani, a candidate for Empire 8 Pitcher of the Year. The left-hander went 5-4 with a 2.91 ERA in his first year as a starter. His 87 strikeouts broke a 65-year old single-season record and led the Empire 8 Conference and ranked 13th in the country. Senior Zeph Walters will also be counted on the mound after striking out 64 in 46 1-3 innings. Junior Quinn DiPasquale will also be a key arm for the Ducks, looking to build on one his best starts of the season at Keystone.

At the plate, senior Harrison Kaye came on strong over the regular season's final 10 games of the year to finish third in the conference in hitting (.403) and his 12 stolen bases ranked sixth. Walters pairs with junior Alex Detweiler to form a potent one-two punch in the middle of the Stevens lineup. The duo finished fourth and fifth in the conference in home runs and the pair combined for 55 runs batted in. At the top of the order, senior Michael Mule' sets the table for the Ducks, leading the team with 30 runs scored and his 14 steals was tied for third in the conference.

Important Links: Tournament Homepage | Live Stats | Empire 8 Baseball

Facebook: "Like" Stevens Athletics         
Twitter: @stevensducks
Instagram: @stevensducks
Snapchat: ducks_athletics