Hoboken, N.J. – The Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team split a regular-season-ending Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom doubleheader with Misericordia on Sunday afternoon.

The Cougars (26-14, 14-7 MAC Freedom) won game one, 2-1, while Stevens (25-13, 18-3 MAC Freedom) claimed game two, 12-2, in eight innings.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Stevens needed just two pitches to open a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, as Victor Schilleci launched a leadoff home run to right field. Misericordia hurler Max Oliver and Stevens pitcher Jordan Fisse then matched zeroes through three frames following the Schilleci homer. The Cougars threatened in the third, getting a runner to third base with one out, but Fisse induced a groundout and a foul out to escape the jam.
 
Stevens mounted a threat in the bottom of the third, as Schilleci and Eli Somers delivered one-out singles. They were stranded, however, as a pair of flyouts ended the inning. The Cougars evened the score in the top of the fourth, when Brock Bollinger led off with a double and scored on an Owen Daminger single to right-center.
 
Misericordia took the lead in the sixth, pushing across an unearned run on a Jeff Policarpio single. Stevens had two runners on base in the bottom half but couldn't bring home the tying run. They had one final opportunity in the seventh, but Oliver retired the Ducks in order to clinch game one.
 
Misericordia wasted no time in the nightcap, scoring twice in the first inning. Bollinger plated one run with an infield single, and another scored on a throwing error. Stevens responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the frame. Schilleci singled up the middle and scored all the way from first on a double down the left-field line by Somers. Dylan Fishbough then hit a high pop-up in the infield, but the whipping wind caused havoc, allowing the ball to drop for an infield double. Chip Krese tied the game with a run-scoring groundout to make it 2-2.
 
The Ducks broke the game open with a four-run second inning. Kieran O'Brien, Aaron Wong, and Schilleci singled with one out, and Somers followed with a long home run over the right-center field fence to extend the lead to 6-2. Justin Doyle settled in after the rough first inning, retiring eight of the next nine hitters he faced.
 
Somers struck again in the fifth, drilling a 2-1 pitch from reliever Luke Leventhall over the fence in deep center field to stretch the margin to 7-2. Joe Gonzalez relieved Doyle and retired all nine batters he faced, needing just 34 pitches. The Ducks capped the scoring with a five-run eighth inning on five hits.

Colby Ching started the rally with a single and scored on an O'Brien double. After Schilleci walked, Somers dunked a single to left, making it 9-2. Fishbough followed with a double to left, scoring Schilleci. After a strikeout, Krese walked it off with a two-run double down the left-field line, giving Stevens the run-rule victory.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Schilleci had two of the Ducks' four hits in the opener, while Somers and Krese each added a single.
• Fisse allowed just two runs (one earned) on five hits, striking out four and walking only one.
• Somers' seven RBI were one shy of the school record and the most in a game since Ryan Wall had seven against FDU-Florham on April 18, 2021.
• Eight of the nine starters had at least one hit in game two, with Schilleci, Fishbough, and O'Brien collecting two apiece.
• Doyle notched his seventh win of the season, throwing five innings and scattering three hits while striking out three and allowing two runs (one earned).
• Gonzalez earned his second save of the season, tossing three perfect innings of relief and striking out two. 

UP NEXT
The Ducks, who earned the No. 1 seed in the MAC Freedom Tournament, will host No. 4 Lebanon Valley in the MAC Freedom Semifinals in a best-of-three series beginning Friday. First pitch at Dobbelaar Field is scheduled for 3 p.m.