PITTSFORD, N.Y. (April 13, 2018)  – Junior Charlie Ruegger struck out nine over seven strong innings, senior Alex Detweiler reached base seven times over two games as the Stevens Institute of Technology Baseball team snapped a two-game losing streak with a sweep of St. John Fisher College Friday afternoon in an Empire 8 Conference doubleheader at Dugan Yard.

In the opener, sophomore Patrick Rood had three hits and senior Tommy Baronner score twice as the Ducks jumped out to a three-run lead en route to a 4-1 victory. In game two, six different players drove in a run as Stevens outscore the Cardinals 8-1 over the final five innings to earn a wild 15-8 victory. The wins improved Stevens' record to 18-13 on the year and 11-3 in the E8. The two-game sweep evened the all-time series at 17.

Scott Eisenmenger had a pair of hits and Jake Hewitt had a three-run homer for St. John Fisher, who saw its six-game winning streak come to an end. The Cardinals fell to 16-9 on the year and 5-3 in the Empire 8. 

"Good pair of wins today on the road," said coach Kristaps Aldins. "We had tremendous offensive production from our lineup and got some key pitching performances from both our starters and old bullpen. We are starting to play our best baseball of the season, which is very encouraging to see."

In the opener, Ruegger (4-2) continued his run of strong starts, pitching his second complete game in three starts, allowing an earned run on seven hits. The right-hander has struck out at least six in every start this season. The Morris Plains, New Jersey native has allowed two earned runs over his last 22 innings (0.82 ERA). Fisher scored their lone run of the game on Stephen Edgett's fifth-inning RBI double. Ruegger struck out Ryan Fahy to end the threat. 

The Ducks touched the reigning Empire 8 Pitcher of the Year, Anthony Brophy, for four runs on eight hits over just five innings, matching the left-hander's shortest outing of the season. 

Stevens opened the scoring in the first. Baronner singled through the left side and reached second when Ryan Simmons threw away Shaye Bartnick's fielder's choice grounder. After Detweiler flied to right for the second out of the inning, Rood singled through the right side to give Stevens a 1-0 lead. 

The Ducks tacked on a pair of runs in the fourth. Detweiler singled to begin the rally. Rood doubled down the left field line to move the Stevens first baseman to third. Brophy was called for a balk to advance both runners and junior Matthew Pasko singled to give the visitor's a 3-0 lead. Detweiler added a fifth-inning sacrifice fly to close out the scoring.

While the opening game provided strong performances on the mound, game two was the complete opposite as the teams combined for 23 runs and 29 hits. Neither starting pitcher factored into the decision and Stevens scored in the first six innings of the game in its biggest offensive output of the season.

Detweiler went 5-for-6 in game two and drove in three. The five hits marked a new career-high. Detweiler extended his on-base streak to 22 games and extended his conference-leading RBI total to 35. Rood matched Detweiler with three runs batted in and Baronner also drove in three from the leadoff spot.

A 7-7 game in the fourth, Stevens roughed up four Fisher relievers for eight runs on eight hits over the final five innings. After Bartnick's two-out walk, Matt Toohey came on for Alec Teska (0-1). Detweiler doubled to left to score both Bartnick and junior Donny Gherardi, who doubled earlier in the inning. Rood lofted a sac fly to left for the second run of the inning, and Stevens never looked back.

Stevens added three more in the sixth off Anthony Loussedes. Freshman Charles Kwong began the rally, husting to first on a third-strike wild pitch. The speedy outfielder promptly stole second. Freshman Nathan Zuckerman was hit by a pitch. Baronner connected on a Loussedes pitch for a double to left and moved to third on a throwing error. Gherardi scored Baronner with a sacrifice fly, giving Stevens a 12-7 lead.

Freshman Roy Iversen (4-0) won his fourth straight decision, allowing a single run over an 1 1-3 innings. Classmate Joseph Deitz worked three hitless innings and senior Drew Hanke worked around a pair of baserunners to wrap up the sweep.

Detweiler and freshman Raymond Cortes III delivered run-scoring hits in the ninth to close out the scoring. A single through the left side produced the second collegiate RBI for Cortes.

Up Next: With Saturday's matchup with St. John Fisher postponed because of the inclement weather, Baseball returns to the diamond on Wednesday, April 18 for a non-conference contest with Misericordia University. 

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