GLENSIDE, Pa. (April 18, 2021) – The Stevens Institute of Technology softball team rallied from a 4-2 deficit in the seventh inning and got a clutch two-out knock from Victoria Kapp in the ninth to earn a doubleheader sweep of Arcadia University and clinch a top-two seed in the MAC Freedom Tournament, winning game one 7-3 and game two 6-4 in nine innings.

The Ducks got production up-and-down the lineup as seven different student-athletes had at least one RBI in the doubleheader to move to 16-6 overall and 13-3 in the MAC Freedom standings, just percentage points behind Misericordia University (15-3 MAC Freedom).

Arcadia, meanwhile, fell to 15-7 overall and 12-6 in the conference standings and can now no longer catch Stevens in the conference race with only two MAC Freedom games left on the schedule for each team.

"I'm very proud of this group," head coach Emily Kaczmarek said. "Our defense worked really hard and made some really big plays in both games. Offensively, we had better discipline and made the adjustments we needed to from yesterday. It was an exciting day with good softball on both ends."

Game one was a true pitcher's duel through four innings as Jessie Masur and Knights' starter Kylee Schwind combined to allow just three total hits to keep the game scoreless headed into the fifth.

The Ducks got on the board first in the top half of the fifth as Amanda Delorme continued to swing a hot bat and led off with a single up the middle and move to second on a single from Madison Gemma.

After Meg Halloran put down a perfect bunt single to load the bases with one out, Samantha Schattin came through as she has all season with an RBI single to second base to bring home a run.

One batter later, Gina DeOliveira made it 3-0 when she lifted a sacrifice fly to score pinch runner Elise Fauske. In the same play, Halloran was able to use her speed to race home all the way from second base after
Schattin was caught in a rundown for the final out of the inning.

Stevens tacked on another run in the top of the sixth when Alex Schoellig led things off with a walk, was bunted to second by Abigail Circelli and came home on an RBI single off the bat of Siobhan Cottell.

Masur (11-1), who gave up just one hit through the first five innings, ran into a bit of trouble for the first time in the bottom of the sixth after back-to-back singles and a sacrifice bunt put two runners in scoring position with one out.

Alexis Burge, the leading home run hitter in the MAC Freedom, added another big fly to her stat sheet one batter later as she lifted a three-run homer to right to make the score 4-3.

The inning did not yield anymore runs as Masur induced a flyout and got some help from her defense as Circelli hosed a runner trying to swipe a bag to end the frame.

Stevens swelled the lead back to four with three key insurance runs in the top of the seventh.

After Halloran singled and Schattin walked, the duo successfully pulled off the double steal to put a pair in scoring position with nobody out.

DeOliveira then brought home the first run of the inning on an RBI fielder's choice and moved to second on the throw to retain the two RISP and nobody out situation.

Schoellig then stepped to the plate and delivered an RBI single right back through the box to score two and push the lead to 7-3.

Arcadia threatened to cut into the lead once again as three singles loaded the bases with two outs to bring the tying run to the plate.

Masur did not blink though as she got a fielder's choice groundout to end the threat and the game to seal the win. She has now tossed 12 complete games this season and is the leader in the conference in ERA (1.09), innings pitched (77), strikeouts (86) and wins (11).

Both Schattin and Schoellig had multi-hit games in the first contest as they each went 2 for 3 with a run scored to lead the way.

Heading into the final game of the series needing a victory to lock up at least the #2 seed, the Ducks got clutch hits late and a fantastic pitching performance from Erin Kreis to earn the 6-4 extra inning win.

The scoring started in the top half of the second when Gemma doubled home Cottell on a 3-2 pitch to give Stevens an early 1-0 lead.

The Knights responded quickly with a single run of their own on a bases loaded walk in the bottom half of the frame, but Kreis (5-5) was able to escape with out giving up the lead by getting a flyout with the bases juiced to end the inning.

In the top half of the fourth inning, Delorme ripped a double down the left field line to bring home pinch runner Madison Kidd. It was the fourth double of the series for Delorme who had just five hits on the weekend total.

Arcadia struck back in the bottom of the sixth as two walks, a groundout and a flyout put two runners on with two outs in the inning.

The nine-hole hitter Brooke Ward came up with a big two-out triple into right field and scored one batter later after an RBI single by Alex Destefano to make the score 4-2 in favor of the home team.

The Ducks did not fold, however, as a walk and an error put Julia Baber and Halloran in scoring position with one out.

After Schattin reached on an error that brought home Baber, Arcadia starter Juliana Presto plunked DeOliveira to load the bases.

Schoellig then stepped to the plate and was able to get enough of a 1-2 pitch to lift a sacrifice fly to right and bring home Halloran to tie things up at four.

After a perfect bottom of the seventh from Kreis, the game advanced into extra innings where neither team did any damage in the eighth.

In the top half of the ninth Stevens got back-to-back singles from Halloran and Schattin and moved into scoring position with two outs on a fielder's choice.

After Schoellig was walked to load the bases, Kapp, who came on as a defensive replacement in the eighth, laced a 1-2 pitch into the hole between first and second base to score a pair and give the Ducks a 6-4 edge.

The bottom of the ninth got dicey for a bit for Kreis as she allowed a pair of singles to put runners on the corners with two outs. The sophomore remained calm though and got groundball to Schoellig who flipped to DeOliveira at second to end the game.

Kreis ended up tossing a career-best nine innings while scattering nine hits on four runs with a pair of stirkeouts.

Schattin posted her second consecutive multi-hit game and her 14th of the season in game two. After going 4 for 7 on the day with two RBIs and two runs scored, Schattin has now elevated her batting average to a conference-best .544.

Next Up: The Ducks compete in their final regular season conference contests of the season Wednesday with a doubleheader against FDU-Florham starting at 3:00 p.m.