Patchogue, N.Y. – The Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team closed out the regular season with a 10-7 victory over St. Joseph's-Long Island on Tuesday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Ducks (27-13) wasted little time, plating two runs in the opening inning.
Chip Krese was hit by a pitch to lead off the game and moved to second on a single by
Adam Barrington. The pair executed a double steal before Stevens took a 2-0 lead on back-to-back sacrifice flies from
Griffin Zitko and E.J. Balewitz Jr.
The Golden Eagles (18-18) answered with an RBI double in the bottom of the second, but
Raphael Schneider limited the damage with a strikeout to end the inning. Stevens responded in the third, as consecutive singles by Barrington and Zitko, followed by another double steal, put runners on second and third. After a groundout,
Adam Kobayashi delivered a two-run double to left-center, and
Vinnie Stigliano followed with an RBI single to extend the lead to 5-1.
The Ducks added three more runs in the fourth. Krese was hit by a pitch for the second time and advanced on a single up the middle by Barrington before Zitko launched a three-run home run to left field, pushing the advantage to 8-1.
St. Joseph's-Long Island chipped away with one run in the fourth, four in the fifth, and another in the sixth to pull within two at 9-7. Stevens' lone run during that stretch came on an RBI groundout by
Robert Savely.
Stigliano entered in relief and allowed just one run over 3 2/3 innings to maintain the lead. The Ducks added an insurance run in the ninth when Zitko led off with a double, stole third, and scored on a throwing error by the catcher. The Golden Eagles threatened in the bottom of the ninth, placing two runners on with two outs.
Ryan Ciesla came on and induced a flyout to right field to secure the victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Zitko hit his team-leading eighth home run of the season, tied for the third-most in a single season.
- Barrington recorded his fifth three-hit game and 12th multi-hit performance of the season.
- Kobayashi drove in two runs, while Savely added an RBI.
- Stigliano earned the win with 3 2/3 innings of relief.
- Schneider started and allowed one run over three innings, striking out two.
- Ciesla recorded his first collegiate save, retiring the final out.
UP NEXT
The Ducks will face top-seeded DeSales University in the best-of-three Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom Semifinals beginning Friday. First pitch in Center Valley, Pa. is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.