The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team will be making its 2011 home debut as they will be opening the brand-new Naimoli Family Baseball Complex with a big four-game Northeast Conference series against Long Island starting Friday, April 8, at 3:00 p.m. The Knights and the Blackbirds will play a doubleheader featuring a pair of seven inning games on Saturday starting at 1:00 p.m., while the series finale will be played on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. FDU will be looking to move out of the last-place spot in the standings.
The Knights (5-18, 2-6 NEC) have lost three-straight games after dropping a mid-week non-conference tilt at Seton Hall on Wednesday, 13-0. The Knights' offense only mustered five singles on the day.
Scouting Long Island
The Blackbirds come into the weekend series with a record of 13-11 (5-3 NEC) after splitting a four-game series at home last weekend against Wagner. On Saturday, LIU lost game one, 8-4, before bouncing back to win game two, 5-4. On Sunday, the Blackbirds once again lost game one, 11-0, before responding with a win in game two, 3-2. LIU took three out of four from Sacred Heart in its opening NEC series and are currently in third place in the conference.
The Knights and the Blackbirds will be getting together for the 123rd time in the all-time series. Each team has won 60 games in the series, and there have also been two ties. The very first game in the series was played back in 1953, an 11-4 LIU win. The two teams have played each other every year since 1962 as the former Metropolitan and ECAC Metropolitan rivals used to play multiples times in a season. The Blackbirds took three of four games in last year's series in Brooklyn, NY. FDU swept LIU in a four-game series in 2009 at home.
Leading the Knights
In eight NEC games, seniors Brian Dillon (Sarasota, FL/Cardinal Mooney) and Erik Pollag (Sicklerville, NJ/Paul VI) are both hitting over .400. Dillon is hitting .464 (13-for-28) with a home run and three RBI's. Pollag is hitting .407 (11-for-27) with four RBI's and four runs scored. Junior Ryan Kresky (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) has belted two home runs, driven in five RBI's and has scored six runs.
Senior Zach Kisling (Marlboro, NJ/Marlboro Central) has picked up both pitching victories in relief as the lanky right-hander has appeared in five games. Fellow classmate Spencer Kelly (Rockville, MD/The Bullis School) has also made five relief appearances in NEC play and has collected two saves. In two starts on the hill, senior Nick Melchiorre (Mt. Laurel, NJ/Holy Cross) posted a 4.61 ERA in 13.2 innings pitched, while scattering eight hits, striking out six and walking three.
Up Next
The Knights will travel to Jersey City, NJ for a mid-week game at Saint Peter's on Wednesday, April 13, before traveling to New Britain, CT to take on Central Connecticut State for a four-game NEC series starting on Friday, April 15.
FANS ARE ENCOURAGED TO BRING SEATS TO THE GAMES THIS WEEKEND DUE TO THE LACK OF BLEACHERS.
