HOBOKEN, N.J. (February 24, 2018)  – Patrick Rood picked an excellent time to record his first hit of the day. The sophomore second baseman turned on a 3-1 fastball and drove it well over the wall in right-center to give the Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team a 7-4 victory over William Paterson University on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Dobbelaar Field.

The win was the first of the year for Stevens and, dating back to the 1975 season, was the program's first-ever win over the Pioneers in Hoboken. All of Stevens' previous victories over William Paterson came in Wayne, New Jersey. 

"Very satisfying win today," head coach Kristaps Aldins said. "We had almost identical scenarios as the first two games, having the lead in the late innings. This time we battled and were able to come out on top. It's good to see that kind of resiliency from our team here in the early goings of the season."

Junior Donny Gherardi had two hits and stole a base for Stevens and freshman Ambrose Consol went 1-for-1 with a run scored, a walk, a hit by pitch and a successful sacrifice bunt. Freshman Charles Kwong collected a key hit, the first of his career, in his only at-bat of the game and also scored a run after coming in earlier as a pinch-runner. Fellow first-year, Gannon Kenney-McGowan drew a walk in a big pinch-hit opportunity in his first collegiate plate appearance.

Carson Weis homered and stole a base for the Pioneers, who dropped their 2018 season-opener.

With the winds swirling towards right field and playing conditions deteriorating as the teams eyed extra innings, freshman Thomas Paulich reached on a throwing error to begin the winning rally as a light rain had turned into a steady rain around the seventh inning. Nathan Zuckerman attempted to lay down a sacrifice, but the rookie catcher popped the ball up for the first out of the inning. Senior Alex Detweiler walked on four pitches to bring up Rood. 

In his second inning of work, Zach Polzer (0-1), threw three straight balls to Rood to begin the at-bat. The Huntington Beach, California native took the 3-0 pitch for a called strike and then deposited Polzer's next offering over the fence for a three-run homer, setting off a wild celebration from the Ducks on the field and eliciting cheers from those brave enough to endure the conditions.

Rood's heroics were needed after William Paterson rallied for a run in its half of the ninth off Drew Hanke. Charged with protecting a one-run lead, Hanke struck out pinch-hitter DeAngelo Descorbeth to begin the inning. Anthony DiGirolamo uncorked a double in the gap. Matt Ferrara hit a hard grounder to first that skipped between Detweiler's legs, allowing DiGirolamo to trot home with the tying run.

The late fireworks spoiled an outstanding outing from Quinn DiPasquale. The right-hander stuck out the first five batters of the game and finished the game with a career-high 10 punchouts, while allowing one run on three hits over seven innings. WPU's Corey Martinez matched DiPasquale, scattering just three hits over six innings with four walks and seven strikeouts.

The Ducks broke through off two William Paterson relievers in the seventh. After Matthew Pasko worked a full-count walk to load the bases, Bryan Kopko came on to face Tommy Baronner, who worked a four-pitch walk to force in a run. After consecutive strikeouts, Detweiler calmly placed a single up the middle to drive in a pair of runs.  

Up Next: Stevens travels to Boston, Massachusetts for a game with No. 5 UMASS-Boston.

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