Originally scheduled for Thursday, April 6, the pair of baseball games against Misericordia University were moved to Friday, April 7, due to projected inclement weather.
In the first game, after neither team recorded a hit in the first inning, Misericordia scored a leadoff home run in the top of the second to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead.
In the top of the third inning, after a hit-by-pitch and a single for the Cougars, their first baseman rallied in a runs-batted-in (RBI) single to extend the visitor’s lead to 2-0. While Misericordia attempted to bring home another runner and make the score 3-0, the Ducks got the tag at the plate to halt the Cougars from increasing their lead.
The Ducks finally found their groove in the bottom of the sixth inning after sophomore infielder Evan Pravato was walked to leadoff the inning. The Ducks’ performance was highlighted by senior outfielder Michael Reyes, recording a two-run home run to right field for the Ducks’ first hit of the game. Heading into the seventh inning, the score remained in favor of the Cougars at 3-2.
In the top of the seventh inning, Misericordia had a leadoff double and eventually scored on an error, giving the Cougars an insurance run. The Ducks hoped to rally and win the game in the bottom of the seventh with a leadoff single by junior Jack Irby, but the Ducks grounded into a double play and the Cougars held on to win at a margin of 4-2.
In the second game of the day, Misericordia jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first inning, but the Ducks came back in the bottom of the third inning. Senior Ben Tobio reached first on an error on the opening at-bat and then reached second when sophomore Victor Schilleci singled. Junior Christian Kreiser advanced both runners on a groundout later in the inning. In the next at-bat, Tobiotied up the game at 1-1 off of a wild pitch.
The game continued without any action until the top of the sixth inning when Misericordia hit a two-run home run to left field making the score 3-1. The Ducks were unable to respond the rest of the game, letting Misericordia snatch two key MAC Freedom victories.
Across both games, the Ducks only generated seven hits, led by junior Frank Tonina who totaled two of the seven. Wins were handed out to Misercordia’s David McCurray (7-2) and Steve Rinda (2-1), and losses were given to Ducks seniors Justin Doyle (4-3) and Ryan Shea (3-1) in the first and second games, respectively.
The Ducks are now 18-9 overall and 9-5 in the MAC Freedom. Stevens remains in third place in the conference standings and now trails Misericordia by 2.5 games. The Cougars improved to 22-5 on the season and 11-2 in conference play. Stevens looks to finish the three-game series with Misericordia on Wednesday, April 12. The game will be in support of the Bristol Fire Department and will be played at Muzzy Field in Bristol, Connecticut.
