Grimes Helps Stevens Split With Ithaca
ITHACA, N.Y. (April 9, 2011) – Senior Russ Grimes had three hits, three runs scored and four runs batted in as the Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team earned a split with nine-time Empire 8 Champion Ithaca College at Freeman Field in Ithaca, N.Y. Stevens (5-16), captured the first game of the doubleheader 8-5, before falling to the Bombers in the nightcap 13-3. The squads will wrap up the four-game conference set with a twinbill on Sunday, April 10 beginning at 12 p.m.
Game 1: Stevens 8, Ithaca 5
Scoreless after three, the Ducks broke the deadlock in the top half of the fourth, plating a pair of runs on four hits. With one out and nobody on, senior Kenneth Meerendonk belted a solo shot to right to put Stevens on the board. Senior catcher Denis Ackermann then ripped a single to left center before Grimes pushed a ground ball through the right side, putting runners on the corners. Junior Matt Glassman then notched a big base-knock, driving in Ackermann to stretch the Stevens’ lead to two.
Looking for more, the Ducks kept things rolling in the top of the fifth, tacking on three more runs on two hits and an Ithaca error. Sophomore Tyler Courter got things started by reaching on a Bombers’ throwing error, putting the lead-off runner on. After a pair of quick outs, Ackermann singled down the rightfield line, moving Courter to third. Grimes then smashed a homer to left, plating all three Ducks’ runs in the frame to make it 5-0 Stevens.
Needing to answer after a quiet fifth, Ithaca roared back in the sixth inning, erupting for five runs on five hits and a pair of Stevens errors. Senior Matt Streich (East Greenwich, R.I.) led things off with a double down the right field line before third baseman David Ahonen (Farmington, N.Y.) singled back up the middle to drive in the Bombers’ first score.
Senior Trevor Wolf (Freeville, N.Y.) then singled to left putting two aboard with no out. With runners on second and third and one down, freshman Colby Gee (Freeville, N.Y.) tripled to center, scoring two more Ithaca runs. The Bombers then tacked on another two runs on a pair of Ducks’ miscues, suddenly making it 5-5 heading into the seventh and final inning.
With one out, junior Tom Phillips looked to kick-start a Stevens rally, singling through the right side. After Meerendonk drew a walk, Phillips advanced to third on a wild pitch, putting runners on the corners. After Ithaca secured a much needed strikeout, Grimes delivered another piece of timely hitting, this time ripping a shot back up the middle to score Phillips.
Hoping to give the Ducks more of a cushion, Glassman recorded an infield single to third, plating Meerendonk, before junior TJ Alcorn notched Stevens’ third-straight two-out hit, singling up the middle, scoring Grimes to cap off a three-run Ducks’ seventh.
Stevens’ junior righthander Jeffrey Hart – who entered the game with two outs in the Ithaca sixth – would take things from there, retiring the Bombers on a fly-out to left and a game-ending double-play to secure the Ducks’ fifth victory of the season.
Grimes finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored and four RBI, while Glassman – who drove in a pair of runs – Ackermann and Meerendonk each recorded a pair of hits.
Ducks’ starter Kevin Matchews, who began the game with five shutout innings, allowed five runs (three earned) on 10 hits, while Hart tossed one and a third in relief, surrendering just one hit in the win.
Wolf paced the Ithaca attack with three hits, while Ahonen and Gee combined for three hits, three RBI and two runs scored. Senior Dan Lynch (East Amherst, N.Y.) went five innings in the start for the Bombers, allowing five runs on seven hits. Junior Tucker Healy (Needham, Mass.), who tossed one and a third in the loss, allowed three runs on four Stevens’ hits.
Game 2: Ithaca 13, Stevens 3
Looking to rebound, Ithaca wasted no time getting on the board in game two, scoring a pair of early runs on two hits. Stevens answered with three runs in the top of the second on a Ryan Kiczek two-run RBI single to center and a Bomber’s throwing error on Courter’s attempted sacrifice bunt, but Ithaca pushed across seven runs over the next two frames to take a commanding 9-3 edge. After a pair of scoreless innings, the Bombers wrapped up scoring with a four-run sixth, tallying four hits in the stanza.
Kizcek finished 1-for-2 with a pair of RBI, while Linden and Alcorn each recorded a hit and run scored. Stevens starter Michael Donovan lasted just two and a third innings, surrendering nine runs on nine hits in the loss.
Wolf went 4-for-4 with three RBI, while Streich and junior Matt Keller (Pelham, N.Y.) each finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored, with the duo also combining for three RBI. Sophomore Pat Lemmo (Syracuse, N.Y.) threw five and two thirds innings in relief, allowing just one hit en route to his first victory of the year.