DALLAS, Pa. (April 10, 2021) – Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning, the Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team got a big two-out, three-run home run off the bat of Ben Tobio to take a 3-1 lead and eventually earn a 6-3 win before falling in game two 24-0 in a doubleheader split against Misericordia University on the road Saturday.

Tobio's blast was the first of his collegiate career as he lifted a 3-2 pitch over the left field wall with a pair of runners on base to help the Ducks move to 11-5 overall after the doubleheader. Stevens has now won the series opener in four of the five series it was played this season and remains in second place in the MAC Freedom standings.

On the mound in game one, the Ducks got another solid effort out of Chandler Brierley who tossed 5 2/3 innings and gave up three earned runs on five hits while striking out four.

In the backend, Anthony Pron came on in relief in the sixth and retired the final batter of the inning and gave up just one hit in the seventh to earn his conference-leading fourth save of the season. Pron allowed just one hit over 1 1/3 innings of work and struck out one to lower his season earned run average to 2.00.

"It was certainly good to take game one behind Chandler and Anthony's outings on the mound," head coach Kristaps Aldins said. "Tobio put a great swing on the baseball to turn the momentum in our favor in the middle innings."

In the same inning as Tobio's homer, the Ducks also got two-out RBI doubles from both Thomas Paulich and Johnny Albrecht as a part of a six-run inning to take the lead and keep it for good.

The Cougars took the first lead of the game in the bottom of the first on a walk, a single and a groundout, but Brierley was able to limit the damage as he got a lineout to center to end the threat and strand a runner at third.

The score remained 1-0 until the fourth when Ryan Wall and Christian Kreiser both drew walks to put runners on first and second with two away.

After stranding four runners on base in the first three innings, the Ducks looked like they might suffer the same fate again until Tobio stepped to the plate and delivered the big blast of the game.

The inning was not done there, however, as Brett Mendez and Nate Zuckerman both walked to set the table for Paulich who delivered with a two-RBI double into the left centerfield gap to score two.

One batter later, Albrecht joined the party as he roped a 2-1 pitch into right center for a double to plate Zuckerman and swell the lead to 6-1.

Misericordia answered with two of their own in the fourth thanks to back-to-back two out singles and a two-RBI double to center from Sean Boylan. The inning ended there, though as Nate Zuckerman hosed Boylan trying to stretch a double into a triple for the final out of the frame.

Brierley (3-1) was able to retire the first two batters of the fifth before issuing a walk and giving way to Pron hoping to protect a 6-3 lead.

The sophomore from Mullica Hill, N.J. did just that as he induced an inning-ending flyout to end the threat in the sixth.

A one-out single and a stolen base gave the Cougars a runner in scoring position in the bottom of the seventh, but Pron did not let it phase him as he struck out the last batter of the game to clinch the victory in the series opener.

Paulich was the lone Duck to have a multi-hit game in the first contest as he went 2 for 3 with two RBIs and a run scored. Mendez, Zuckerman, Albrecht, Gannon Kenney-McGowan and Tobio all added one hit apiece in the win.

Game two of the doubleheader was all Cougars from the jump.

In the bottom of the first, Misericordia loaded the bases on two singles and walk and subsequently brought in the first run of the game on a hit-by-pitch.

After starter Roy Iversen was able to get a lineout right back to him for the first out, it looked like he might be able to get the second without a run scoring as well as he got the next batter to hit a ground ball to first. The throw home to get the force was wide, however, and allowed a runner to score.

In what would have been the final out of the inning, the next batter grounded out to Paulich at short but because there was only one out a runner came across to score to make the score 3-0.

The big blow of the inning came one batter later as Joe Liscio delivered a two-out, two-RBI single through the right side to bring the lead to five.

Iversen (2-2) was lifted from the game following the at bat and was saddled with the loss. The senior from Oak Park, Ill., gave up three hits and just one earned run in 2/3 of an inning.

The Cougars would pour it on from there as they scored one in the second, six in the third, nine in the fourth, two in the seventh and one in the eighth to earn the lopsided 24-0 victory. Of the Ducks' five losses this season, four of them have come via a shutout.

Mike Faria was the most effective reliever for Stevens in the contest as he gave up just one hit in a scoreless seventh inning. Mark DeCicco, meanwhile, allowed four hits and just one earned run while fanning two in three innings of relief.

Offensively, Zuckerman, Paulich, Albrecht, Peter Mastropolo and Chris Silos all had one hit apiece in the second contest with Paulich, Albrecth and Mastropolo all ripping doubles.

"Game two was a tough one," Aldins said. "Now the focus turns to Monday with the goal of doing whatever it takes to win the series."

With potential poor weather in the area for Sunday, the second doubleheader of the series in Hoboken originally scheduled for Sunday has been moved to Monday starting at 12:00 p.m. at the Dobbelaar Field. Live stats and video will be available on StevensDucks.com.

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