Paulich Powers Baseball Past Wilkes
HOBOKEN, N.J. (April 16, 2022) – The Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team earned two big MAC Freedom wins, sweeping Wilkes at home in a doubleheader Saturday at Dobbelaar Field. They won the opener 3-1 and came back from three runs down to earn a 9-8 victory in the nightcap.
Graduate student Thomas Paulich showed out for the Ducks. He finished the day a combined 5 for 7 over both games with five RBI and two home runs. Both of his homers came in the second game when he led a comeback for Stevens, who trailed by three runs late in the seven-inning affair. The Ducks improved to 23-10 overall and 10-5 in conference play with the wins. Stevens sits in third place in the league standings, one game behind Misericordia. The teams will face one another in a three-game series next weekend.
"Two close ones and we were able to come away on the right end on both. On a day where we celebrated our seniors this was particularly meaningful. In game one Leo Bristow was fantastic in his six innings and Jacob Buurman came in and slammed the door shut with help from a fantastic double play turn from Ryan Wall at first base," said head coach Kristaps Aldins. "In the second one it took a huge two out rally in the bottom of the fifth, which was sparked by a pair of home runs from Thomas Paulich and Michael Reyes and RBI singles from Evan Pravato and Brett Mendez."
Junior Jason Spezzaferra led the Colonels with four hits on the day, going a combined 4 for 5. Graduate student Nick Pronti finished the day 2 for 5 and had a solo home run in the second game. Wilkes fell to 16-15 and 4-11 in conference play with the losses.
Junior Leo Bristow (1-1) gave the Ducks an impressive start in the first game and was credited with his first win of the season. He pitched six innings, struck out nine batters and gave up only four hits. Stevens took an early 2-0 lead in game one. Paulich singled to right field to drive in two runs in the first innings and the Ducks never looked back. Sophomore Jacob Buurman pitched a scoreless seventh for his sixth save.
The Colonels cut the lead to 2-1 in the top of the fifth, but Stevens answered right back to make the score 3-1 and that held until the end. Senior JT Hibschman (2-3) pitched a complete for Wilkes and was credited with the loss. He gave up five hits and three strikeouts.
Game two was a back-and-forth affair. The took an early 3-1 lead through four innings and then the bats came alive for both sides in the fifth. Wilkes got the inning started with a three-run homer from junior AJ Brosious and then a single to right center scored two more and Stevens trailed 6-3 headed into the bottom of the inning.
The Ducks stepped up and Paulich started the inning with a two-run blast to cut the deficit to 6-5. In the very next at bat, junior Michael Reyes hit a solo shot to right center to tie the game. Two RBI singles gave Stevens the lead at 8-6 after a 10-run fifth inning.
Paulich added a solo shot in the sixth to extend the lead to three and that proved to be the deciding run. Wilkes made a run late in the top of the seventh and a two RBI double cut into the lead, but it was not enough and Stevens earned the 9-8 lead.
Graduate student Alex Smith (1-1) pitched the final two and two-thirds innings and was credited with the win. First-year Todd Kolbicka (0-1) received the loss for Wilkes, allowing two unearned runs on three hits without retiring a batter.
Between games, the Ducks honored their six-member Class of 2022 as well as graduate student transfer Hunter Silvernail.
Up Next: Stevens is back in action on Tuesday, April 19. They host the City College of New York at Dobbelaar Field in a non-conference matchup. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. The Ducks have won the last two meetings between the programs, but the teams have not met since 2015. Links for live stats and video are posted to StevensDucks.com.
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