STEVENSON, Md. – Stevenson University and Arcadia University split a MAC Commonwealth baseball doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Sugar Field.  The Knights slugged their way to an 18-10 win in the opener, before the Mustangs rebounded to take a 7-5 win in the nightcap.

Stevenson (16-17, 7-8 MAC Commonwealth) took control of game two with a five-run bottom of the fourth to take a 7-4 lead.  Senior Matt Myers doubled down the left field line with one out, followed by a single to right by Nick Peifer that made it 4-3.  Sophomore Jake Dimon followed with a double down the right field line, allowing Peifer to score as he slid under a high throw from the cutoff man.  Dimon moved to third on the throw and scored when sophomore John D'Aquanno singled through the left side.

After a fly out, D'Aquanno stole second and third and scampered home as the inning was extended as freshman Matthew Kerber reached on a throwing error.  Kerber stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a single by senior Craig Joseph to make it 7-4.

Arcadia (19-11-1, 10-5 MAC Commonwealth) got a run across and got the tying run on base in the top of the seventh, but senior Trevor Fitzsimmons ended the threat with a strikeout.

The Knights took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second before Stevenson scored twice in the bottom half to take a 2-1 lead.  Myers singled with two outs, followed by a Peifer triple to the gap in left center to tie the game.  Dimon hit a grounder through the right side to plate Peifer. The lead was short-lived, as a three-run triple by Pat Shevlin put Arcadia back on top 4-2 in the top of the third.

Myers finished 3-3 in the nightcap, while Peifer and Dimon each had two hits as the Mustangs outhit the Knights 11-8.  Freshman Jason Bidwell earned the win in relief, allowing one hit in 3.2 innings, while Fitzsimmons earned his third save of the season.  Stevenson starter freshman James Wiercinski went the first three-plus innings, allowing six hits and four runs (three earned).

In the opener, Arcadia scored in every inning but the third and had multiple runs in four innings. The Knights held an 8-0 lead after two and tacked on four runs apiece in the fourth and fifth innings to extend the lead to 16-5.

Stevenson scored five runs in the bottom half of the third.  Joseph had a two-run double, while junior Kevin Kopas drove in a run on a groundout.  Sophomore Jake Hall had a run-scoring triple, while the fifth run came in on a sac fly by Myers.

Hall belted a three-run home run, his sixth round-tripper of the season, in a four-run fifth, then drove in a run in the sixth when he reached on a fielders' choice.

Hall went 2-3 with five RBI in the opener, while Joseph was 3-4 with a pair of RBI.  Senior Ian Eberly and D'Aquanno had two hits apiece.  Freshman Christopher Perez took the loss, allowing 10 hits and 10 runs (nine earned) in three-plus innings.  The Mustangs were outhit 18-12 in game one.

Stevenson is idle until Friday when it opens a three-game series with Messiah College on the road in a 3:30 contest.