Center Valley, Pa. – The No. 4 Stevens Institute of Technology baseball dropped the Best-of-3 Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom Semifinal Series to No. 1 DeSales on Saturday, winning Game 2 by a score of 5-3 before dropping the winner-take-all game 16-8.
How It Happened – Game 2
After dropping Game 1 of the series 15-13 in 13 innings Friday night, the Ducks entered the top of the eighth inning six outs from elimination, trailing 2-0, but displayed much of the same late-inning resiliency shown during the regular season.
With one out in the inning, the Ducks loaded the bases without putting the ball in play after
Chip Krese was hit by a pitch,
Adam Barrington walked, and
Griffin Zitko was hit by another pitch.
Garret Wolf followed Zitko with a game-tying two-run single, then after Edward "E.J." Balewitz Jr. reloaded the bases with a single,
Jackson Wein plated Zitko and Wolf with a single to right, with Balewitz moving to third – he scored two pitches later on a
Vinnie Stigliano sacrifice fly, capping a five-spot for the Ducks.
The 5-2 lead shrunk to 5-3 in the eighth, but
Connor Herlihy closed out a gutsy 7+ inning effort from
David Finch with a five-out save, pushing the series to Game 3.
How It Happened – Game 2
Down 2-0 after two,
Veer Wadhwani (walk),
Dylan Fishbough (single), and Krese (walk) loaded the bases with no one out for the Ducks in the third. Barrington followed with a single to center, scoring Wadhwani, Zitko worked a nine-pitch walk to force home Fishbough, and Balewitz reached on a fielder's choice, scoring Krese, putting the Ducks up 3-2.
The Bulldogs made a definitive statement in the bottom of the inning, scoring nine runs to retake the lead, 11-3.
Stevens (28-15) got a run back in the fifth, then two more in both the sixth and seventh, but drew no closer than four runs, with the Bulldogs adding four more in the bottom of the seventh.
Inside the Box Score(s)
- Finch tossed 7.1 innings, allowing three earned runs with six strikeouts in Game 2; it was his seventh outing of at least sis innings with three or fewer earned runs; it was also his seventh 6+ strikeout performance of the season
- Wolf had multiple hits in both games, finishing 4-for-9 with two runs and three RBI; starting at first base in both games, he also handled all 23 total chances without committing an error
- Balewitz had a hit and a run in both games, adding two RBIs in Game 3
Up Next
Stevens will wait to see if their 28-win season was enough to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships.
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