HOBOKEN, N.J. (March 13, 2021) – With the score tied 6-6 and a runner on third with one out in the bottom of the 11th inning, senior Nate Zuckerman lifted a 1-1 pitch into right field to bring home Michael Reyes on a sacrifice fly and give the Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team a 7-6 walk-off win over Misericordia University in game two of the doubleheader after the Cougars won game one 14-7.

In a game that featured two different late-inning comebacks for the Ducks, Zuckerman proved to be the hero as he drove in his 15th run of the season in the bottom half of the 11th to help Stevens move to 12-6 on the year while Misericordia dropped to 9-7.

"That was one for the ages," head coach Kristaps Aldins said. "And is one I know I will never forget. There were just so many gutsy performances. The resiliency to battle back again and again makes us feel so good about what this group of Ducks is made of. Truly a team win."

Ryan Wall and Reyes were also huge in the win offensively as the duo both hit crucial home runs to help Stevens get to extras. Stevens found itself down 3-0, 5-2 and 6-5 at three separate portions of the game and were able to battle back and pick up the win.

Reyes, who was making just his second collegiate start in the field, recorded the first hit of the game for Stevens when he lifted the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the sixth inning over the right field wall to cut the deficit to 3-2.

Wall, meanwhile, came off the bench and delivered a huge pinch-hit, three-run bomb to right center with the Ducks trailing 5-2 to tie the contest and send the game into extras.

With the split, Stevens remains in second place in the MAC Freedom standings as the Cougars sit just behind them in third place.

The doubleheader and the series were both splits as Misericordia ensured at least that after winning game one 14-7 thanks to a huge nine-run fifth inning.

The Cougars got the scoring started in the top half of the second as starter Leo Bristow gave up three straight singles to make the score 1-0 but did induce a 5-2-3 double play with the bases loaded and nobody out and then got a strikeout to end the frame and limit the damage.

Zuckerman helped the Ducks respond in a big way in the bottom of the third as he turned on the first pitch he saw from starting pitcher David McCurry and sent it into the parking lot beyond the right field fence for his second home run of the season to make the score 2-1.

The Cougars answered back in the fourth with three runs of their own thanks to a pair of RBI sacrifice bunts as well as an error to re-take the lead at 4-2.

The lead then swelled from two to nine as Misericordia brought across nine runs in the top half of the fifth inning in a frame that featured seven hits, an error, a home run and three consecutive two-out RBI base hits. Austin Miles had the big blow in the inning with a three-run homer to right center, his first home run of the season.

Ben Tobio did continue to swing a hot bat in the bottom half of the inning as he lifted his second home run in three games over the left field wall to cut the deficit to 13-3.

After the Cougars tacked on another run in the top of the sixth on a sac fly, Stevens did its best to claw back into the game as Frankie Tonina was able to rip a 2-1 pitch over the fence in right center field to plate three runs and make the score 13-6.

For Tonina, who came on in relief of Christian Kreiser defensively, it was his first collegiate big fly and it earned him his first career start one game later.

The Ducks added another in the inning on an RBI single by Johnny Albrecht but could not produce any more offense as they dropped the seven-inning affair 14-7. It was the most runs scored in a loss for Stevens this season as the Ducks have been shutout in four of their six losses.

Zuckerman and Albrecht both had three-hit efforts in the game one win as Gannon Kenney-McGowan and Tobio added two hits apiece.

Bristow (1-3) was saddled with the loss after tossing three innings and giving up three runs on five hits and striking out one. McCurry (2-1) picked up the victory on the bump as he threw five innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits and fanning four.

With Ryan Shea on the hill in game two, Stevens did anything and everything to try to earn the doubleheader and ultimately series split.

Shea found himself in trouble in the top of the first as a hit-by-pitch, a walk and an error put the Cougars ahead 2-0. One batter later, Randy Mateo singled up the middle to put the lead at 3-0.

It looked like that might be all that was needed for Misericordia starting pitcher Isaac Snyder as he did not give up a hit in his first five innings of work.

He was touched up a bit in the sixth, however, as Chris Silos drew a leadoff walk to bring up Reyes. The sophomore wasted no time as he was able to send his first collegiate home run just to the right of the scoreboard to make the score 3-2.

The Cougars answered right back in the top of the seventh with two more runs to put the lead back to three on RBI singles from Owen VanNewKirk and Mateo.

It looked like the Ducks might go gently into the Hoboken night as Misericordia reliever Tyler Leonard was spectacular in his first couple of innings on the mound as he allowed just two baserunners in his first three innings of the contest.

In the ninth, Kreiser was able to notch the first hit against Leonard with one away and Tobio drew a walk to bring the tying run to the plate in the person of Wall.

The junior, who came on in relief as a pinch hitter, hit a three-run, no doubter home run that cleared the extended right field wall easily to tie things up at five.

Stevens looked like it might end things in the bottom of the 10th as the bases were loaded with nobody out in the inning. Leonard danced out of danger, though, as he got a strikeout and a 4-6-3 double play to end the threat.

With Roy Iversen on in relief of Anthony Pron, who was extremely effective out of the bullpen, the Cougars were able to take the lead once again in the 11th thanks to a leadoff single, a sac bunt and another RBI single off the bat of Mateo.

With things looking bleak, the Ducks did not give up in the bottom half of the inning as Tobio led things off with a single and swiped second to put a runner in scoring position with one out.

Reyes, who scored the eventual game-winning run, then ripped an RBI single right back through the box to bring home Tobio and tie things up once again.

After a failed pickoff attempt and a single off the bat of Brett Mendez, the Ducks had runners on second and third with just one out with Zuckerman coming to the plate.

The Cougars, unlike they did in the 10th inning, elected not to walk Zuckerman to load the bases and create a force at any base. With the Stevens women's lacrosse team, who were scheduled to practice when the contest ended, cheering in the stands, the senior made them pay for that mistake as he was nearly able to hit his second homer in as many games as his fly ball to right field nearly hit the fence.

Reyes was able to sprint home on the fly ball, however, to give Stevens a 7-6 win and a series split.

"It also felt great to have the support of our Ducks' families back in the stands," Aldins said. "And women's lacrosse helped us out getting loud in the late innings. It's little things like that that make me so proud to be a Stevens Duck. And I'm so thankful that our student-athletes in almost all sports are here on the field where they belong, competing, which is exactly what our group did tonight."

Iversen (3-2) earned the win on the mound after tossing one inning and allowing one run on a pair of hits.

Pron was the most effective reliever for Stevens as he set a new career-high with 62 total pitches. Over three full innings of work, Pron allowed no runs on just one hit while striking out five to keep the deficit at just three.

Mendez and Reyes were the lone Ducks with multi-hit games in the win as Mendez finished 2 for 6 and Reyes went 2 for 5 with three RBIs and a run scored.

Not much rest for the Ducks as Stevens returns to the diamond Wednesday as they take on King's College on the road in a single game starting at 4:00 p.m. The Ducks swept a doubleheader against the Monarchs in the first two games of the season on March 7th in Hoboken. Live stats and video will be available on StevensDucks.com.

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