HOBOKEN, N.J. (May 17, 2021) – The Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team rallied from a 9-4 deficit with a four-run eighth inning but were unable to complete the comeback as they saw their historic 2021 season come to a close in the MAC Freedom Championship game with a heartbreaking 10-9 loss at the hands of Misericordia University on a walk-off infield single from Dante Salerno at Dobbelaar Field Monday.

It was the first time this season the Ducks have dropped a contest when scoring at least eight runs as they conclude the season 24-12 overall. The .667 winning percentage is the best in a single season since Stevens went 29-14 (.674) in 2015.

The Cougars, meanwhile, improve to 27-8 and have now won 10 consecutive conference titles dating back to the 2011 season and will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

"This team has so much to be proud of," head coach Kristaps Aldins said. "Our seniors and leadership core took what could have been a very difficult season and instead turned it into perhaps one of the most enjoyable ones we have ever had. The seniors left our program in a better place, which is now part of their legacy. Thanks to them there are bright days ahead for the Ducks baseball program."

Misericordia ultimately won four of the seven games between the teams this season as the Ducks have handed the Cougars nearly half of their eight losses on the year.

It was a back-and-forth affair throughout that featured four ties and four lead changes before Salerno ultimately broke the tie for the final time with his bases loaded two-out RBI single to third base in the bottom of the ninth.

"We certainly also want to thank out entire Stevens athletic department and all of our support staff for being there not only for us, but for all of the varsity programs at Stevens every step of the way," Aldins said. "This is truly a great place to be a student-athlete, in large part thanks to the culture of our department."

Stevens struck first in the contest as junior Brett Mendez led the game off with a single up the middle and was bunted to second by senior Nate Zuckerman.

Senior Thomas Paulich then provided the first big moment of the game with a two-run bomb down the right field line over the chain link monster. It was Paulich's third big fly of the season as the Second Team All-MAC Freedom selection posted a 2 for 5 effort to finish the season with a .305 batting average.

The Ducks looked poised to add more in the frame as first-year Johnny Albrecht and sophomore Michael Reyes followed the homer with back-to-back singles to set the table for junior Chris Silos who laced a two-out single through the left side.

Cougar right fielder Garrett McIlhenney made sure Stevens did not tack on anymore though, as he hosed Albrecht trying to score from second to keep the score at 2-0.

In the bottom of the frame, Misericordia took the lead with a three-run inning highlighted by RBI singles from Sean Boylan and Shane Hughes that signaled the game would be a true battle throughout.

Stevens answered right back in the top half of the second when sophomore Ben Tobio hit a solo homer to right center to tie the game. It was Tobio's fourth homer of the year, three of which came against the Cougars.

Later in the inning, the Ducks were able to re-take the lead when Mendez walked, Zuckerman singled and Paulich brought home his third run of the game with an RBI single through the left side.

The score remained 4-3 in favor of Stevens until the bottom of the third when Misericordia put a six spot on the scoreboard to take a five-run lead.

The Cougars started the frame with back-to-back homers off the bats of Salerno and Boylan to take a 5-4 lead and did not trail the rest of the way.

With two runners on and two away, MU got three consecutive two-out RBI base hits that brought home three more runs.

Austin Miles started the rally with an RBI single through the left side and came home to score when McIlhenney singled up the middle and the throw to third base got away.

Santino Manganella put the finishing touches on the frame when he blooped a double into left field to plate McIlhenney and bring the score to 9-4.

The score remained the same until the top of the fifth when a Reyes single, a walk to junior Ryan Wall and a single by Silos loaded the bases with nobody out as the Ducks looked poised to cut into the deficit in a big way.

The damage was limited to one run in the frame, however, as Cougar pitcher Isaac Snyder got a double play and a lineout to end the threat.

It looked as if Misericordia might break the game open in the bottom of the sixth when back-to-back singles and a hit-by-pitch gave the Cougars their own bases loaded with nobody out situation.

Sophomore Anthony Pron did not blink though as he got three consecutive strikeouts of MU's 5-6-7 hitters in the order to strand the bases loaded and leave the deficit at four.

With the score still 9-5 in the top of the eighth, the Ducks made sure not to go down without a fight as they tied things up with a two-out rally that resulted in a four run inning.

Albrecht kicked things off when he singled deep in the hole at shortstop and moved to second on the next pitch when Reyes collected his third hit of the game on a single through the left side.

After Wall drew another walk to load the bases, Silos was able to rip a double down the left field line that would have cleared the bases if it did not roll underneath the temporary fence. Two runs scored, however, to cut the deficit down to two.

Finegan was the next batter for the Ducks and he kept the parade going with an infield single to second base to bring home Silos. Additionally, the throw from the second baseman to first was wide of the bag and sailed into the Stevens dugout to allow Wall to come home and tie the game for the first time since the score was 4-4 in the third.

In the bottom of the ninth with Pron still on the bump, Misericordia started the inning with a walk and was able to put a runner in scoring position with one out on a sacrifice bunt.

Pron (2-1) was able to get the next batter to flyout for the second out of the inning but then intentionally walked McIlhenney and allowed another base on balls to Manganella to load the bases with two away.

Salerno then became the hero for the Cougars as he laced an 0-2 just off Silos' glove at third base for an infield single to give Misericordia the thrilling one-run win.

In by far the longest outing of his career, Pron was saddled with the tough-luck loss after an impressive performance on the mound. The Second Team All-Conference selection tossed 5 2/3 innings, giving up just one run on three hits while striking out a career-best six batters. His seven saves this season are the most since Charlie Ruegger racked up eight in 2017.

Offensively, Stevens got multi-hit efforts from Zuckerman, Paulich, Reyes, Albrecht, Silos and Finegan as all nine starters reached base at least twice in the game.

"On a personal level, I owe a great among of gratitude to Charles Thielmann, our full-time assistant coach who puts in countless hours both on and mostly off the field behind the scenes to make our program run smoothly," Aldins said. "He is one of the best coaches around, there is no doubt about that.

"And a big thank you also to our analytics team, specifically Greg Bender," Aldins continued. "He did in an incredible job with scouting reports all season long, pouring over data helping to put our team in the best position to win. As well as the analytics team founder Michael Cornish for his persistence to make this team a reality. It's these kinds of people that help create a championship culture within a college baseball program."

Stevens will say goodbye to its seven seniors on the roster, Tyler Armstrong, Roy Iversen, Gannon Kenney-McGowan, Thomas Paulich, Alex Smith, Eli Zuckerman and Nate Zuckerman as well as its one graduate student
Chandler Brierley, who finishes this season inside the top-five in program history with 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings.

Looking ahead to next season, the Ducks will return seven student-athletes who started at least 23 games this year offensively as well as a pair of all-conference pitchers in Pron and Ryan Shea.
 
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