HOBOKEN, NJ—The Stevens Ducks scored eight runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to defeat the Houghton Highlanders, 13-5, in game one.  The Ducks then completed the sweep by scoring six runs in the first inning of game two, holding on to win the second game of the day, 8-2.
 
Game One:
Houghton grabbed a 3-1 advantage in the fourth inning after David Wessells singled to center, stole second and third, then scored on a wild pitch.
 
In the bottom half of the inning the Ducks grabbed the lead after Nolan Bennett broke up Victor Cavalieri's no-hit bid with a double off the right field wall.
 
Four batters later Stevens claimed their second hit of the day, a three-run home run to center field by pinch hitter Alex Detweiler that gave the Ducks their first lead of the day.
 
Houghton cut the lead to one in the top of the fifth thanks to a Jacob Hayes ground-rule double, then tied the game on a Tage Johnson single to right that scored Taylor Huntsman on an overthrow by the shortstop. 
 
The Highlanders should have claimed the lead on the following play—a groundout by Ethan Duryea—but an officiating error kept Johnson at second base instead of advancing him to third on the dead ball.
 
The Ducks, however, reclaimed the lead for good in the bottom half of the inning when Zeph Walters led off with a home run to right center, then scored seven unanswered runs with two outs.
 
Houghton stranded 10 men on base; the Ducks left only two.
 
Hayes collected two hits for the Highlanders.
 
Game Two:
The Ducks hot-hitting continued into the second game as Stevens exploded for six runs on seven hits, sending eight batters to the plate before the Highlanders could even record an out.
 
Houghton starter Ned Monthie then settled into a groove, retiring the next eight Stevens batters and facing the minimum over the ensuing three innings, but the damage had been done.
 
Stevens' starting pitcher Danny Poidomani held the Highlander offense at bay, allowing six hits and one walk over seven innings while striking out eight.
 
Wessells, Johnson and Garret Kirkpatrick each picked up two hits apiece in the loss for the Highlanders.
 
Coach's Corner
"Two innings.  Two losses really came down to two innings when they combined some quality hitting with a little luck and scored 14 runs on us.  That's really hard to overcome.
 
"Other than those two innings I felt we played fairly well.  It's just hard to overcome that type of production. 
 
"Stevens is a good team that is well-coached.  I have a lot of respect for them—they do things the right way and compete hard.  They have some very good pitching and they put a lot of pressure on you.  They've been a consistent presence in the playoffs and should be there again this year.

"I thought Ned [Monthie] and Victor [Cavalieri] actually threw very well, and we had excellent defensive efforts by Nick Melchiore, Jeremy Newswanger and Garret Kirkpatrick.
 
"We're going to choose to focus on a lot of the positive things from this series and clean up the things that beat us.  I still believe we have a good enough team to meet Stevens again in May." –Coach Brian Reitnour