PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (March 14, 2023) – Junior Christian Kreiser had three hits and three RBI as the Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team defeated No. 13/18 Denison University 8-4 Tuesday afternoon at Centennial Park as part of the Snowbird Baseball Classic.
The Ducks (8-5) never trailed as they won their second straight game in Florida. This victory was also their third over a ranked team this season and second in as many games. When paired with the Ducks 5-4 victory over No. 11 Arcadia in the series finale on Sunday, the Ducks have won consecutive games against ranked opponents for the first time since 2018, when Stevens beat then-No. 17 Johns Hopkins 5-4 on March 11, and then-No. 27 St. John Fisher by a score of 8-2 on May 4.
Erik Sundgren and Josh Bohn each had a pair of RBI for the BIg Red, who dropped to 7-3. Tuesday's contest marked the first-ever meeting between the teams.
After a scoreless first inning, sophomore Evan Pravato was able to secure a leadoff walk to put a runner on base for the Ducks. Sophomore Colby Ching fouled out to first, but senior Chris Davis smacked a double to right center which advanced Pravato to third. With two outs in the inning, senior Ben Tobio reached first on an error by Denison's second baseman, which allowed Pravato and Davis to score and put Stevens up 2-0.
The third inning was very similar to the second as the Ducks were able to tack on two more runs. Sophomore Victor Schilleci hit a leadoff triple which immediately put a runner in scoring position. Senior Michael Reyes then reached on another Denison error and both runners came around to score on a Kreiser double to extend the Stevens lead to four. The Ducks' slugger has driven in multiple runs five times this season.
Denison scored three runs in the bottom of the third to get back into the contest.
Stevens responded in the fifth with a single run to push their lead back to two. Reyes hit a one-out double to center and Kreiser followed that with a double of his own to drive in Reyes for the second time.
After giving up a run in the sixth inning, the Ducks put up their sixth run of the game in the seventh inning. After a Reyes single, Kreiser was hit by a pitch and junior Jack Irby walked to load the bases. Next up was Pravato, who grounded into a fielder's choice while earning an RBI on the play as Reyes scored.
Moving to the top of the ninth, the Ducks hit three straight singles from Reyes, Kreiser, and Irby which allowed them to load the bases with a 6-4 lead. With no outs, Pravato stepped up and grounded into another fielder's choice which scored junior Peter Mastropolo who pinch ran for Kreiser. Reyes came home after an error by the Denison second baseman to put Stevens up 8-4.
First-year William Sotiropoulos made his first career start for the Ducks. He lasted three innings, giving up only two hits while striking out three and did not factor in the decision. Junior Jacob Buurman (1-1) first a scoreless 1 2-3 to earn the victory out of the bullpen. Senior Anthony Pron struck out two over 1 1-3 innings to record his first save of the year.
Manny Nager (0-1) started for Denison and allowed an unearned run and walked three in an inning of work.
Each team had ten hits in the game, but the Ducks scored four of their runs unearned which propelled them to victory.
Up Next: Baseball is back in action tomorrow as they take Babson College at 11 a.m. to close out the Snowbird Baseball Classic. This will be the first-ever matchup between the two teams.
Facebook: "Like" Stevens Athletics
Twitter: @stevensducks
Instagram: @stevensducks
#AllRise
