Score: Stevens Institute of Technology 9, Elmira College 1
Score: Elmira College 7, Stevens Institute of Technology 5
Records: Elmira (2-16, 2-7 E8), Stevens (13-11, 6-3 E8)
Location: Dunn Field -- Elmira, N.Y.

ELMIRA, N.Y. -- Freezing temperatures, brief snow flurries, and a loss in the opening game of Thursday's doubleheader weren't going to prevent the Elmira College baseball team from earning a win in the nightcap against Stevens Institute of Technology at historic Dunn Field. After falling to the Ducks 9-1 in the opener, the Soaring Eagles finished the Empire 8 Conference series with a 7-5 comeback win in the finale.

Game One
The Ducks led by just two runs, 3-1, heading into the fifth inning, and that's where the wheels fell off for the Purple and Gold. The Soaring Eagles committed three errors in the fifth, two of which were made trying to field sacrifice bunts, allowing Stevens to plate six runs in the frame.

EC had a chance to chip away at the deficit in the bottom of the fifth. Jack Volpe '20 and Jourdan Plaisted '21 led off with a walk and a base hit, but just like in the second inning, Elmira was unable to push across a run after leading off with two baserunners.

The only run scored by the Soaring Eagles in the early game came in the third inning when Dennis Rudolph '18 singled off the third base bag, which allowed Plaugher to tally a two-out run.

On the mound, Conor Bawiec '18 was on the hook for all nine runs allowed, but only five were earned. He walked just one batter and struck out a game-high-tying six on 98 pitches. Zach Williamson '20 and Noah Gulino '19 each tossed a scoreless inning in relief with two strikeouts.

Game Two
As the Ducks did in the first game, Elmira took advantage of some defensive miscues by Stevens. In the bottom of the first, the hosts scored twice without recording a hit. Plaugher reached on a dropped pop-up in the infield and scored on an errant throw on a botched pick-off attempt. Rudolph, who was walked, then scored on a wild pitch to put EC up 2-0.

Stevens responded by plating five unanswered runs. Two bases-loaded sac flies and an infield RBI single put the Ducks up 3-2 in the second inning, and they added one each in the third and fifth to pull ahead 5-2.

The Soaring Eagles began their comeback in the bottom of the fifth. With two outs, Rudolph walked, stole second and scored on a Bawiec RBI single. Down 5-3 in the seventh, EC sent eight men to the plate and took the lead with a four-spot. Tommy Fogarty '20 made it a one-run game with an RBI infield single, and Bawiec loaded the bases when he was intentionally walked in the ensuing at-bat. Joey Florio '20, who entered off of the bench to play third base, then poked a two-run double down the right-field line just out of reach of the Stevens first baseman. Florio added an insurance run on a wild pitch that put EC up 7-5.

Andy Reed '19 finished the game on the mound as part of a strong seven-inning outing out of the bullpen. He worked around a two-out walk in the top of the eighth and a one-out hit in the ninth. He secured his final out by freezing pinch-hitter Raymond Cortes III for his second punch out of the day.

In Their Own Words…
Head Coach Corey Paluga on his conversation with the team between the opening-game loss and the late-game victory…
"It's learning from our mistakes. We sometimes seem to hurt ourselves, and other teams have taken advantage of our mistakes, as opposed to not letting things snowball and not make a molehill out of an anthill."

Coach Paluga on producing key hits late in the finale despite leaving runners on base several times in both games…
"That's certainly been part of our shortcomings this year, not taking advantage of opportunities with runners in scoring position, whether its less than two outs or coming up with a big hit with two outs. The good thing today was that we took advantage of some of the defense's mistakes to get the runs we needed to. Like I told the guys at the end, it's extremely important not to get our backs against the wall despite the loss in the first game."

Coach Paluga when asked about Andy Reed's winning performance in relief in the nightcap…
"He is a completely different pitcher out of the bullpen. It's like two different kids at times. I think he sees how valuable he is to his team in an important conference game to come out of the bullpen and throw strikes and get outs."

Coach Paluga on the importance of taking one of three games in the E8 series from Stevens…
"We don't talk about must-wins, we talk more about how the next conference game coming up is the most important, because, at this time, we have put ourselves in a situation where we have to be able to string some wins together, particularly in conference so we can stay alive in the playoff hunt."

News and Notes

• Elmira's win was the second overall this season and the team's second in Empire 8 play.
• The Soaring Eagles improved to 1-4 at Dunn Field in 2018.
• The seven hits allowed in the victory over the Ducks are a season low.
• Rudolph posted hits in both ends of the doubleheader, extending his hit streak to 13 consecutive games and his on-base streak to 18 in a row.
• After a slow start at the dish, Fogarty has picked up hits in seven straight games, including his fourth multi-hit game of the year in Thursday's first game.
• Florio set a new career high with two RBIs in the nightcap.
• Reed tied a season-high with 7.0 innings in his sixth appearance on the mound as a junior.
• Gulino's scoreless outing marked the first of his EC career.

Up Next
Elmira will travel to Ithaca, New York, for a three-game conference series against the Bombers of Ithaca College this weekend. The series kicks off with a twin bill on Saturday, April 7, beginning at 1:00 p.m.