Ducks and Bombers Win at Home; Pioneers Suffer Loss on the Road
STEVENS v Drew
The Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team scored a 4-2 home victory over Drew University on Wednesday evening at Dobbelaar Field in non-conference action. With the win, Stevens is now 12-7 overall, while Drew falls to 8-12.
In the bottom of the second, freshman
Bret Viola led off with a walk and reached third on after a sacrifice bunt from junior
Ryan Mannello and error by the Ranger defense. Viola was then thrown out at the plate after Mannello got into a rundown between first and second. A groundout moved Mannello to third, and then junior
Gregg Nickels ripped a ground-rule double to left-center to plate Mannello which gave Stevens a 1-0 lead. Junior
Marc Calleo drove in Nickels with a single on a fly ball to second base that got lost in the sky for the Ducks' second run.
The clear, dusky sky continued to haunt Drew defensively in the third. Freshman
Garrett Wells was credited with a double to left on a high fly ball that was once again lost in the tough backdrop but Stevens could not capitalize on the opportunity.
Drew finally got on the board when Mike Di Donato led off the fifth with a solo homerun to left field to cut the Rangers' deficit to 2-1.
Calleo made a terrific hustle play in the top of the sixth to take an extra base hit away from Steve Kowalski on a bloop single to center. Kowalski tried to advance to second after the ball bounced over the head of Mannello but Calleo was there to back up the play and gunned down Kowalski at second.
The Rangers would go on to score a run in the frame to tie the ballgame at 2-2 on a pair of singles, a walk and passed ball.
Stevens threatened in the bottom of the sixth with runners on second and third but could not produce a run. Hennelly led off with a walk, reached second on a groundout and advanced to third on a single by Viola. Viola moved up to second on the throw. A fielder's choice retired Hennelly at the plate for the second out then Walters fouled out to end the inning.
Drew put two runners on the in top of the seventh but were shut down by senior
Mark Poinsett. Poinsett pitched 1.1 innings in relief to pick up his team-leading third win of the season.
Sophomore
Nicholas Sieber drove in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the seventh after Nickels began the stanza with a single. Nickels raced to second on a throwing error to first base by Drew's catcher on a pick-off attempt and was sacrificed over to third by Calleo. Seiber would move up to second on a delayed steal and came home on a triple to center from Hennelly, who was thrown out at home trying to record an inside-the-park homerun.
Hennelly went 2-for-3 on the evening with a double in the bottom of the first.
Senior
Dan Allen closed the door on Drew in the ninth for his first save of the season. Allen struck out two batters and walked one. In the eighth, sophomore
Daniel McIntyre tossed a perfect inning with two punch outs.
Freshman
Zeph Walters earned the starting nod but did not factor into the decision over 5.1 innings pitched. Walters surrendered two runs (one earned) and fanned five with six hits allowed.
The staff combined for nine strikeouts on the evening and entered the contest with the nation's top strikeouts-per-nine-innings at 10.6 and fourth-best strike-to-walk ratio at 3.49.
ITHACA v Brockport
The Ithaca College baseball team earned its 15th win of the season with a 3-1 victory over Brockport on Wednesday night. The game was played under the lights at the newly-constructed baseball stadium complex at Onondaga Community College. Ithaca is 15-5 on the year and Brockport is 11-9.
John Prendergast earned his sixth win of the season with seven effective innings on the mound, and
Jimmy Wagner worked the final two innings to get his third save of the season.
Ithaca took the lead in the bottom of the first inning as
Christian Brown ripped a leadoff single and
John Stanley followed with a single to send Brown to third. Stanley broke for second base in a stolen base attempt and drew a throw from the pitcher to start a rundown. Stanley stayed alive long enough for Brown to break for home. Brown beat the throw and Stanley safely stole second base on the play.
Brockport answered with a single run in the top of the second inning with a leadoff single, stolen base, and two fly ball outs that moved the runner up one base each time.
Ithaca regained the lead in the bottom of the third. Back-to-back singles by Stanley and
Tim Henry put runners on the corners, and a groundout in the infield by
Colby Gee allowed Stanley to score from third.
Prendergast worked seven innings, allowed six hits and just one earned run. He had six strikeouts and didn't issue a walk. For the season, Prendergast has 39 strikeouts and just three walks. His earned-run average stands at 1.05 and he has a 6-0 record.
The biggest threat for Brockport to tie the game came in the top of the seventh when the Golden Eagles loaded the bases with nobody out. Prendergast got the first out on a strikeout, then coaxed a soft infield line drive to second base. The third out came on a routine fly to right.
The Bombers tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh on a two-out single by Stanley that allowed Brown to score from second base and make it 3-1. That turned out to be the final score.
Wagner picked up his third save of the season with two innings of hitless baseball. He issued one walk and had one strikeout.
Stanley was 3-for-4 at the plate, all singles, with an RBI and a run scored.
Union v
UTICA
The Utica College baseball team lost, 11-4, Wednesday afternoon to non-conference rival Union College at Central Field. Juniors
Ryan Watson and
Thomas Dinnen led the Pioneers as they combined for three RBI in the loss.