HOBOKEN, N.J. (March 30, 2018)  – Junior Charlie Ruegger fired a 15-strikeout one-hitter, senior Alex Detweiler finished a single shy of the cycle, and the Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team won its fourth straight game with a 3-0 victory over the State University of New York at Canton Friday evening in an Empire 8 Conference matchup at Dobbelaar Field.

Junior Carlos Leon walked twice and stole a base for Stevens, who improved to 11-9 on the year and 4-1 in the Empire 8. With St. John Fisher's loss to Ithaca earlier in the day, the Ducks are currently in first place atop the league standings. 

Joseph Dwy had a third-inning infield single for Canton's lone hit of the evening. The Kangaroos dropped their fourth straight to fall to 3-11. The contest marked Canton's E8 opener.

"Dominance from Chuck and veteran hitting from Det and we win a big ballgame," said head coach Kristaps Aldins. "Sometimes baseball seems like a simple game. But when you really analyze how our run-scoring innings played out, it was a series of little things that led to the victory. Matt Pasko moving a runner over from second base with no one out and Tommy getting a good read on the grounder. Donny having the presence of mind to run out of the box on the swinging strike three with [first] base unoccupied. It's the little things that win close games at the end of the year and we will need to keep growing with every game and getting better at playing different brands of baseball depending on that day's opponent."

On a brisk night in Hoboken, Ruegger (2-2) silenced the Canton bats from the opening inning, working quickly and efficiently, mixing in all of his pitches and fell behind just nine batters on the evening. The 15 strikeouts marked a career-high for the right-hander, who didn't issue a walk and has struck out at least seven batters in all five starts this season. The Morris Plains, New Jersey native retired the final 20 batters of the game.

Detweiler provided all the offense Ruegger needed. With the teams deadlocked in a scoreless tie, the senior slugger drove Jake Vierno's first pitch deep into the Hoboken night for his first home run of the season. Detweiler also doubled leading off the fourth. The Sarasota, Florida nearly had his second homer of the game in the eighth, but his blast to center bounced off the top of the wall for a one-out triple, scoring senior Tommy Baronner and junior Donny Gherardi to give Stevens a three-run cushion. The Ducks were the benefit of two Canton errors in the eighth, allowing Detweiler to bat with runners at the corners. Baronner singled to lead off the inning and advanced to second when the  bouncing ball skipped under the glove of centerfielder Travis Schindler. Junior Matthew Pasko advanced the runner to third and Gheradi reached when Ed Malinoski dropped a third strike and the Canton catcher's throw to first pulled Fernando Santana off the bag,

Armed with a 3-0 lead, Ruegger struck out two to complete the masterful performance in a game that took well under two hours to complete. The right-hander struck out the side twice and only one ball left the infield on the evening. 

"We are playing well right now," Aldins reflected. "But I believe we still have a lot of room for growth. We will need to be at our best tomorrow for another big set of games."

Freshman Ambrose Consol kept the shutout bid in tact in the fourth, robbing Canton's Wilson Matos of extra bases with a leaping grab at the center field wall. 

Up Next: Stevens and Canton continue their three-game series Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader at Dobbelaar Field. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.

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