HOBOKEN, N.J. (May 1, 2021) – On a day where every starter collected at least one hit and every pitcher recorded at least two strikeouts, the Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team swept past Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham Campus in a doubleheader with an 8-2 win in game one and a 7-5 victory in game two to advance to the MAC Freedom Semifinals.

Stevens improved its overall record to 21-9 this season while the Devils close their season at 8-21 overall. It is the first time the Ducks have reached the 20-win plateau since 2018 and the .700 win percentage would be the best winning percentage for the Ducks since 1961.

In their first full season in the league, the third-seeded Ducks move onto to face off against #2 DeSales University in Center Valley, Pa., on Saturday May 8th and in Hoboken on Sunday, May 9th, if-necessary, with a spot in the MAC Freedom Championship series on the line.

"It feels great to be moving on to the next round," head coach Kristaps Aldins said. "FDU really came to play and gave us everything they had. All the credit to them for making us work hard in both games."

Stevens wasted little time getting on the board in the opening contest with four runs in the bottom of the first inning.

After Brett Mendez walked and Nate Zuckerman was hit by a pitch, Johnny Albrecht ripped a single into left field to plate Mendez.

One batter later, Michael Reyes continued his hot streak at the plate when he bounced an RBI ground-rule double over the center field wall.

The two-run lead then turned into a four-run cushion as Ryan Wall, the Ducks leading RBI producer, singled up the middle to bring home a pair.

The Devils were able to cut the lead in half in the top of the second thanks to a two-RBI single from Tyrus Chippendale, but starter Chandler Brierley limited the damage as he got a flyout to end the inning.

Brierley (4-3) earned the win on the hill after tossing five innings, allowing two runs on five hits while punching out six. The graduate student from Ridgewood, N.J., improved his conference-best strikeout total to 57 in just 40 innings this season.

The Ducks tacked on a run in the bottom of the fifth when Wall doubled to lead off the inning and eventually scored on a two-out RBI single up the middle off the bat of Mendez.

The score remained the same until the eighth when Stevens created some breathing room with a three-run inning.

Christian Kreiser walked to lead off the inning and Ryan Finegan made FDU pay for the free pass when he lifted a two-run bomb over the wall in right field. It was Finegan's first homer of the season and the third of his career, one in each of his seasons on Castle Point.

Later in the frame, Ben Tobio singled to left, stole second and moved to third on a balk before Nate Zuckerman brought him home with an RBI single to right to bring the lead to six and to the eventual-final score of 8-2.

Leo Bristow, who came on in relief of Brierley in the sixth, was able to cruise through the final four innings to earn his first career save. Bristow allowed just one hit across four innings while punching out three with two walks and a hit batter to seal the win in game one.

Offensively, Stevens got multi-hit efforts from Mendez, Wall and Finegan and were able to get the leadoff man in the inning on base in six of the eight total at-bats.

Game two of the day was a closer affair as it was tied headed into the bottom of the seventh before Stevens broke the game open with a four-run inning.

The Ducks got on the board first once again, this time with a pair of runs in the second.

After Reyes walked to lead things off, Wall blasted his second double of the day into left field to score the first run of the inning.

Chris Silos then moved Wall to third with a sac bunt and Finegan did his job once again, lifting a sacrifice fly into center to double the lead to 2-0.

Much like in game one, FDU responded by cutting the lead in half in the next half inning thanks to an RBI single from Matt Nodoro.

The lead swelled from one back to two in the bottom of the fourth when Albrecht led things off with a walk and eventually came around to score thanks to a two-out RBI single into center from Silos.

Chippendale helped the Devils cut into the deficit once again in the fifth with his legs as he singled to open the frame, moved to second on a sac bunt, and advanced to third and scored on two separate wild pitches.

Starting pitcher Roy Iversen exited with a 3-2 edge after tossing five innings and giving up two runs, one earned, on five hits while fanning four.

With Alex Smith on the hill in the top of the sixth, FDU-Florham was able to tie things up thanks to a single, a sac bunt and an RBI single to center by Tommy Moore.

Smith (4-0) barreled down from there, though, punching out the final two batters of the inning to keep the game tied at three.

The score remained the same until the bottom of the seventh when the Ducks got some clutch at-bats to grow the edge to four.

Zuckerman started the rally with a one-out walk and promptly scored one pitch later after Thomas Paulich laced a double down the left field line to give Stevens a one-run lead.

Two batters later with runners on the corners, Reyes stepped in and hit the second pitch he saw into center field for a sacrifice fly that scored Paulich.

A Wall single and a Silos walk then loaded the bases with two outs for what was the eventual game-winning moment as Finegan lined a single up the middle to plate a pair. Since returning to the starting lineup on April 25th, Finegan is 7 for 12 with nine RBIs, a double, a home run and two runs scored across four games.

FDU-Florham did answer with a two-run homer in the top of the eighth but could not add any more as Anthony Pron retired four of the final five batters he faced, three of which came via the strikeout, to wrap up the doubleheader sweep.

It was Paulich, Finegan, Wall and Tobio who had multi-hit efforts in game two for the Ducks. Overall, Wall finished the doubleheader 5 for 7 with two doubles, three RBIs and a pair of runs scored.

"Big team training tomorrow getting some of our key pitchers in action in an inter-squad setting as well as at-bats for our positional players," Aldins said. "The work for next weekend begins tomorrow."

Next Up: The weekend series Aldins is referring to will be against #2 DeSales with a three-game set to determine who will advance to the MAC Freedom Championship series. Stevens took three of four games from the Bulldogs in the regular season with a split on the road and a doubleheader sweep at home. Live stats and video for the entire series will be available on StevensDucks.com.

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