CENTER VALLEY, Pa. (May 9, 2021) – First-year Johnny Albrecht lifted a two-run bomb over the wall in centerfield in the top of the ninth to help the Stevens Institute of Technology baseball grab a key 6-5 win in game one of the MAC Freedom Semifinals against DeSales University before falling in game two by the same 6-5 score.

With the split, the two teams will now play in a winner-take-all game three on Monday at 6:00 p.m. in Hoboken, N.J. with a spot in the MAC Freedom Tournament title on the line. The Ducks are now 22-10 overall this season while DeSales moves to 23-8.

"Just some really good baseball games today," head coach Kristaps Aldins said. "Incredible finish in game one that went in our favor and then an equally exciting game in the second one that went to DeSales."

The incredible finish in game one truly came down to the wire as Albrecht stepped to the plate with the Ducks trailing 5-4 with two outs and junior Brett Mendez standing on second base. Albrecht did not let the moment get the better of him, however, as he blasted the second pitch he saw for his fifth long ball of the season.

Sophomore Anthony Pron, who came into the game and escaped trouble in the bottom of the eighth, struck out a pair in the ninth to seal the 6-5 victory.

The Bulldogs jumped ahead to an early 3-0 lead in the contest with an RBI single from Colin Trembley and a two-RBI double off the bat of Billy Scanlon, both of which came with two outs in the first.

The score remained the same until the top of the third when the Ducks tied things up with three runs of their own.

After sophomore Ben Tobio reached on an error and junior Brett Mendez laid down a perfect bunt single, senior Nate Zuckerman brought home the first run when he also reached on an error that allowed Tobio to race home.

Two batters later, Albrecht was the one who reached on a defensive miscue from the Bulldogs that scored Mendez and sophomore Michael Reyes followed with an RBI single into right center to plate senior Thomas Paulich.

An inning later, Tobio gave Stevens its first lead of the game when he cranked a one-out bomb over the fence in left center to make the score 4-3.

DeSales responded immediately, however, with an RBI single in the bottom half of the fourth to tie the contest at four.

With the score still knotted in the bottom of the seventh, the Bulldogs re-took the lead thanks to a clutch two-out RBI double by Trembley.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Bulldogs threatened to extend the lead as Liam Kile hit a one-out double down the right field line that prompted the Ducks to bring Pron out of the bullpen.

After walking the first batter he saw, Pron was able to get Ethan Carmack to hit a line drive right at Ryan Wall at first base who immediately stepped on the bag to complete the double play.

In the top of the ninth, Mendez led things off with an infield single to the shortstop and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Zuckerman.

After Paulich flew out to right, Albrecht made sure the Ducks would not go down without a fight and hit the eventual game-winning dinger.

Mendez was fantastic at the plate for Stevens in the game going 4 for 5 with two runs scored while Albrecht drove in three runs to move his season total to 28, just two behind Wall for the most on the team.

Game two started in similar fashion to game one with the Bulldogs getting an RBI double in the first and an RBI single in the second to take an early 2-0 lead.

In the top of the third, Zuckerman singled and Paulich doubled to put a pair in scoring position with two outs for Albrecht who was able to bring two home on an errant throw and tie the score at two.

One batter later, Reyes gave the Ducks the lead with an RBI single into center field to plate Albrecht.

Stevens extended the lead to three in the top of the fourth thanks to a sacrifice fly by Tobio and an RBI single off the bat of Zuckerman to bring the score to 5-2.

The Bulldogs did not quit, however, as they answered back with two runs of their own in the bottom of the frame on a two-RBI double from Robert Lamm.

With the score 5-4 in the top of the fifth, the skies opened up and rain delayed the contest for over an hour.

When the teams returned to play, DeSales was able to tie the contest in the bottom of the fifth thanks to an error, a sac bunt and a wild pitch.

The game remained tied at five until the bottom of the eighth when back-to-back Duck errors allowed the first two runners of the inning to reach base.

After Tobio threw out a runner trying to swipe third, a walk and a wild pitch put runners on the corners with one away for Kile who lifted a pitch just deep enough into center field to score the run on a sacrifice fly to bring the score to 6-5.

In the ninth, it looked as if history might repeat itself as Zuckerman reached on a walk and put a runner on base with two outs for Albrecht. The first-year was unable to deliver this time, however, as he hit a screaming liner right at the left fielder for the final out of the game.

Senior Alex Smith (4-1) was handed his first loss of the season after some tough luck on the mound in relief. Smith tossed four innings and gave up a pair of unearned runs while allowing just one hit and striking out two.

Offensively, both Zuckerman and Reyes posted multi-hit games in the loss to lead the way for the Ducks.

"This series all comes down to tomorrow in Hoboken," Aldins said. "Our coaching staff is confident our Ducks will come ready to play with a spot in the MAC Freedom finals on the line."

Next Up: By virtue of being the higher seed in the series, DeSales will be the home team on the scoreboard for Monday's game three. The Ducks are now 4-2 against the Bulldogs this season and swept both ends of the doubleheader in Hoboken earlier this season. Live stats and video for the game will be available on StevensDucks.com.

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