HOBOKEN, N.J. (February 19, 2023) – Junior Christian Kreiser homered and drove in a career-high four runs but the Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team fell to No. 16 William Paterson 13-6 Sunday in a non-conference matchup at Dobbelaar Field.

Sophomore Daniel Roman and classmate Liam DeRubertis each drew a bases-loaded walk as part of a four-run seventh inning for the Ducks, who dropped their second straight in falling to 3-2.

Steve Yelin and Carson Weis homered for William Paterson, who improved to 2-1. The Pioneers have won six of the last eight meetings between the programs. 

William Paterson jumped on senior starter Ryan Shea (0-1) in the first inning, with the first three batters reaching, including Yelin's two-run double to left center serving as the big blow in the inning. Yelin came around to score on Dan Carter's grounder.

Shea walked Will Pitt to lead off the second and Tyler Ruban followed with a seeing-eye single. A sacrifice bunt moved the runners over and prompted pitching change. Sophomore Joe Gonzalez induced a groundout by Colin Lombardo, with a base-running miscue that ended up with Pitt getting tagged out at third because both he and Ruban were at third. However, Jake Lutz drove Gonzalez's next offering through the right side for a two-run single to push the lead to five.

Yelin appeared to extend the inning further with a single to center, but an alert DeRubertis nabbed Lutz with a perfect strike to third to end the threat.

The early runs were plenty for William Paterson starter Darmany Rivas (1-0), who allowed two runs over five innings to earn the victory. The right-hander walked one and struck out three. 

The Ducks got on the board in the fourth. DeRubertis got the rally started with a one-out single to right. Kreiser followed by driving Rivas' 3-1 offering well over the wall for his fourth career homer. Junior Frank Tonina was hit by a pitch to keep the inning alive, but the Ducks' backstop was doubled up on Michael Reyes' flyout to end the frame.

William Paterson added a single run in the fifth and five more in the sixth to take a commanding 11-2 lead. Yelin had the big blow in the sixth with a two-out, three-run homer and Weis followed five pitches later with another long ball.

The Ducks rallied against Jude Zern in the seventh. With two outs, pinch-hitter Jack Stafford singled to center. Sophomore Kevin Villares and senior Ben Tobio walked to load the bases. Roman followed with a seven-pitch walk to force in a run and DeRubertis walked on four pitches to force in another. DeRubertis has driven in at least one run in three of the Ducks' five games. Kreiser followed with a single up the middle to drive in a pair of runs to bring the Ducks within five. The four RBI day topped Kreiser's previous career high of three set last season against Old Westbury.

Sophomore Will Staviski allowed an earned run on two hits in 2 2-3 innings in his season debut. Junior Marc Rivera struck out a batter in the ninth in making his season debut.

Up Next: Baseball heads to nearby Newark, New Jersey on Feb. 24 for a matchup with Rutgers-Newark. Stevens has won five of the last six meetings between the programs, including a pair of victories in 2022. Links for live stats and video will be posted to StevensDucks.com once available.

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