MONTCLAIR, N.J. (April 1, 2024) – First-year Chip Krese had one hit and an RBI, while junior Eli Somers tallied three hits, but it was not enough as the Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team lost to No. 23/19 Montclair State 3-2 (F/12) in a non-conference contest Monday afternoon.

Senior Axel Johnson (2-1) took the loss. He faced two batters and gave up a walk and a hit. First-year Garret Wolf started the game, as he pitched five and two-thirds innings. He gave up one run and four hits. Junior Joe Gonzalez did well in relief, as he pitched two and a third innings and struck out three. He issued two walks but allowed no hits.

The Ducks (14-8) are 1-2 in their last three games. Stevens falls to 0-3 in ranked matchups this season. Stevens is also now 8-5 in non-conference games.

The two teams have split the two-game season series, with the Ducks winning a 14-6 contest earlier in the season. Stevens is now 4-5 all-time against the Red Hawks. Montclair State improved to 19-4 with the win.

The Rundown

• Junior Liam DeRubertis started off the second inning with a double through the left side. After advancing to third off an error on a failed pickoff attempt, junior Colby Ching hit a sacrifice fly to score DeRubertis as the Ducks took a 1-0 lead.
• Montclair State tied the game up in the sixth.
• Both teams had runners in scoring position in the ninth, but were unable to convert as the game went to extra innings.
• Stevens had runners on second and third with two outs in the ninth, but were not able to generate any runs.
• With two outs in the 11th, first-year Luke Mahala pinch hit for the Ducks and delivered a huge single to put a runner on base. He followed that by stealing second and third. First-year Chip Krese then hit a single to left in a 2-2 count to score Mahala and put Stevens up 2-1.
• With two outs in the bottom of the 11th, the Red Hawks tied the game.
• Montclair State scored the winning run in the 12th with no outs.

Top Performers

• Somers was the only Duck to record multiple hits.
• DeRubertis and Mahala scored the runs for the Ducks.
• Krese and Ching each tallied one RBI.
• The Ducks stole five bases in the game. Mahala led the way with two.

• Brendan Roche (1-0) earned the win in relief. He pitched four innings and gave up one run on three hits. Sebastian Ecker started for the Red Hawks. He pitched six innings and allowed five hits and one run. 
• Sam Angelo had three hits, one run scored, and an RBI.
• Joe Gisonda scored one run and recorded two hits.

Around the MAC Freedom 

• No teams in action

Up Next

• Baseball's game tomorrow against SUNY Old Westbury has been canceled due to the projected rainfall. The Ducks are next in action on Friday, when they host Arcadia to kick off a three-game series. The game will start at 3 p.m. The Ducks are 4-10 all-time against the Knights, including losing the last two. Links for live stats and video are available on stevensducks.com.