March 7, 2021

Baseball Sweeps Doubleheader Against King’s to Start 2021

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HOBOKEN, N.J. (March 7, 2021) – The Stevens Institute of Technology baseball program started 2-0 for the first time since the 2016 season with a pair of wins in a doubleheader sweep of King's College, winning game one 6-0 and grabbing game two 7-5.

The Ducks got a stellar start from sophomore Leo Bristow in the season opener who tossed 5.0 scoreless innings and racked up a career-high 11 strikeouts while allowing just four hits to pick up his first career win.

Then, in the second contest, Stevens used a big five-run fifth inning to take the lead and received a magnificent effort out of the bullpen from Anthony Pron to earn the win and start MAC Freedom play 2-0.

It was the first conference competition for the Ducks since transitioning to the MAC Freedom prior to the 2019-20 academic year as they were unable to compete in any conference competition in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The win over the Monarchs was impressive, to say the least, as King's has advanced to the MAC Freedom Tournament in each of the last four years (prior to 2020).

Returning to the field for the first time in 371 days, Stevens wasted no time at the plate either as eight of the nine student-athletes in the starting lineup produced at least one hit on the day with six of those eight finishing the day with multiple hits.

How it Happened (Game One)

  • Bristow was dominant from the start, recording eight of the first nine outs of the game via strikeout to top his previous career high of seven in just three innings of action.
  • After three straight singles by Nate Zuckerman, Brett Mendez and Ryan Finegan loaded the bases in the bottom of the third, Ryan Wall brought home the first run of 2021 with an RBI groundout to third.
  • With runners on second and third and two outs, Thomas Paulich stepped to the plate and delivered a two-RBI single into the right-center field gap that the center fielder could not handle to plate Zuckerman and Paulich to give Stevens a 3-0 lead.
  • The Ducks added three more in the fourth thanks to a pair of miscues in the infield by the Monarchs as well as the first career hit for Johnny Albrecht and walks from Christian Kreiser and Mendez.
  • Leading 6-0, it looked like King's would cut into the deficit in the top of the fifth after the first two runners reached base via a single and a hit by pitch.
  • Bristow settled in, however, and got a huge 5-4-3 double play to put a runner on third with two away.
  • A pair of walks loaded the bases for the Monarchs later in the inning, but Bristow again danced out of danger with his 11th strikeout of the outing to retain the shutout.
  • Alex Smith then came out of the bullpen for the final two innings, allowing just one hit and striking out three over 2.0 to help the Ducks blank an opponent for the first time since April 27, 2019 when they beat Houghton College 5-0.

Inside the Numbers (Game One)

  • Six of the nine starters in the lineup for Stevens recorded at least one hit, led by two hits apiece from Finegan and Zuckerman.
  • Bristow and Smith were effective on the mound with runners on base, holding King's to 0 for 13 at the plate with runners on base and 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position.
  • The Ducks also put the ball in play at a high clip, striking out just three times compared to 14 Ks for the Monarchs.
  • Of the 92 total pitches Bristow threw in the contest, 61 were thrown for strikes while Smith tossed 20 of his 30 pitches inside the zone.

How it Happened (Game Two)

  • Starting his 19th career game on the hill, Chandler Brierley ran into some trouble in the first after Andrew Steidle hit a leadoff single and Chris Burke hit a two-run home run over the right-center field fence to put King's ahead for the first time all day, 2-0.
  • Brierley settled in, however, fanning the next two batters and inducing a fly out to prevent further damage.
  • The graduate student came out firing in the second, striking out three more in the second to keep the deficit at two.
  • Stevens' offense exploded in the bottom of the second for five runs to take the lead for good.
  • A single from Albrecht and a walk by Kreiser set the table for Finegan to come through with an RBI single to left center to cut the lead to one.
  • After a Mendez walk, his third of the day, loaded the bases, Zuckerman came through with a two-RBI single up the middle to bring home Finegan and Kreiser and give the Ducks a 3-2 edge.
  • Wall then followed it up with a ground rule double to plate Mendez and Paulich brought home Zuckerman with an RBI single up the middle to make the score 5-2.
  • Brierley flirted with trouble in the top of the third, but delivered a shut down inning by striking out Cole Keating looking with runners on second and third to end the frame.
  • Stevens added two more in the bottom of the fifth thanks to a Finegan sacrifice fly and a King's error and extended the lead to five.
  • Burke, who was a thorn in the side of Ducks' pitching all day, shaved the lead to three in the top of the sixth with a two-RBI double down the right field line.
  • Smith, who relieved Roy Iversen on the hill with the bases juiced and one outs, came on and limited the damage as he got Matt Mellinger to ground into a force out and struck out Brendan Mozeleski looking to end the inning.
  • In the top of the seventh, Matt Bound made the score 7-5 with a two-out RBI double to left field.
  • After Smith walked back-to-back batters to load the bases, Anthony Pron came on and struck out Seth Laky swinging to strand the bases loaded for the second consecutive inning.
  • A scoreless eighth took the game to the ninth with the Ducks clinging to a 7-5 lead with Pron still on the hill.
  • The sophomore from Mullica Hill, N.J., did not disappoint. After a strikeout and back-to-back walks put runners on first and second with one away, Chris Silos made an impressive stab on a hard ground ball at third base and touched his bag for the second out of the inning.
  • Pron then induced a game and inning-ending groundout to Mendez to preserve the win and earn his first career save.

Inside the Numbers (Game Two)

  • The Ducks found themselves in jams throughout the contest, but consistently limited the damage as they stranded 16 total runners on base. Comparatively, Stevens left just five runners on.
  • Brierley, who was unable to receive the decision on the hill, tossed 4.2 innings and allowed two earned runs on just four hits while punching out nine and walking four.
  • Smith earned the victory on the mound after throwing 1.1 innings of effective relief, giving up one run on three hits with a strikeout.
  • Stevens delivered in big spots at the plate going 5 for 10 with runners in scoring position in the game while the Monarchs went 2 for 12.
  • Stevens and King's were the only two MAC Freedom schools in action this week, currently putting the Ducks atop the conference standings at 2-0. The two teams will meet again for the second half of the series in Wilkes-Barre, Penn. with a doubleheader on April 3.

From the Dugout (Head Coach Kristaps Aldins)

  • "It was just so special to get our student-athletes back on the field. So much work went into making that happen by our Stevens administration, in particular our athletic department led by Russell Rogers."
  • "The two wins were nice, do not get me wrong, and it's a great way to start the year. But today is just as much about our first team training of the year back on Feb. 11. Our baseball athletes came back ready to go. They did not spend those several months away doing nothing. And that is what allowed us to be prepared for King's today. I am proud of them for that. It really shows how much they love the game."
  • "We still have a lot of work to do. But this group is ready to go back to work. In fact, they were in the weight room with Coach Michelle Carrone right after the game, which is what taking care of your body in season is all about. A much deserved day off [Monday] and then we are back at it on Tuesday."

Next Up

  • The Ducks will travel on the road for the first time in 2021 Saturday as they travel to Delaware Valley University for a doubleheader at 12:00 and 2:30 p.m.
  • It is believed to be the first meeting between the two teams in program history.
  • Live stats and video will be available on StevensDucks.com.

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