The Fairleigh Dickinson University baseball team split a doubleheader with Quinnipiac University, Friday, April 6 at FDU Field in Teaneck, NJ. Junior southpaw John O'Hara (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) (Staten Island, NY/St. Peter's) dominated the first contest, hurling six innings of shutout ball, as the Knights moved to 7-17 overall and 2-1 in Northeast Conference action.

In the opener FDU put the game out of reach early, plating seven runs off six hits in the first frame, highlighted by a two run single off the bat of sophomore catcher Vincent Pennacchio (Huntington Station, NY/Commack) (Huntington Station, NY/Commack). Junior outfielder John Paganotti (Staten Island, NY/St. Joseph By The Sea) (Staten Island, NY/St. Joseph by the Sea/Rockland CC), senior outfielder Vincente-Alexander Medina (North Bergen, NJ/Paramus Catholic) (North Bergen, NJ/Paramus Catholic), junior infielder Luis Rosario (Bronx, NY/James Monroe) (Bronx, NY/James Monroe/Rockland CC), senior outfielder Chris Grabowski (Brooklyn, NY/Xaverian) (Brooklyn, NY/Xaverian) and sophomore infielder Jeff Vincent (Murrysville, PA/Franklin Regional) (Belmar, PA/ Franklin Regional) tallied RBIs in the inning.

Infielder Zachary Sand (San Diego, CA/Mission Bay) (San Diego, CA/Mission Bay) lead-off the second inning with a line drive double to dead center. The sophomore scored two batters later when Rosario drove a ball up the middle to open up an 8-0 margin.

O'Hara (3-3) struck out the side in the third, en route to racking up 10 K's in the ball game.

Sophomore outfielder Matt Maher (Peekskill, NY/JFK Catholic) (Peekskill, NY/JFK Catholic) slapped a single to right-centerfield, to kick-start a two-run inning the bottom half of the third. Grabowski plated Maher then hustled his way into second after roping a pitch into left.

Grabowski notched a stand-up triple in the fifth, scoring Maher. Vincent brought in Grabowski with an RBI groundout, creating a 12-0 contest.

Bobcats' (7-8-1, 1-2 NEC) catcher Jeff Carino (Greenwich, CT) hit a two-run homer to centerfield in the seventh.

Grabowski drove in three runs, collecting three hits ? two extra-base pokes ? and scored on three occasions. Vincent and Paganotti also contributed three-hit efforts, while Sand chipped-in a pair.

In the second ball game, Quinnipiac lefty Chris Gloor (Bay Shore, NY) proved nearly untouchable on the bump, tossing six innings, while yielding only one run and fanning seven.

QU took a 1-0 in the first, but Fairleigh Dickinson tied the contest, 1-1, in the following frame when senior infielder Jovan Santos (Woodhaven, NY/Archbishop Malloy) (Woodhaven, NY/Archbishop Malloy) was hit by a pitch with the bases full.

The Bobcats regained the lead, 5-1, in the top of the fourth on the strength of back-to-back home runs. Designated hitter Peter Kummerfeldt (Pompton Lakes, NJ) socked a three-job to right field, followed by a solo shot to left-centerfield courtesy of infielder Wilson Matos (Kent, WA).   

Quinnipiac tacked on five runs in the fifth, punctuated by a two-run dinger to centerfield by infielder Randy Gress (Shelton, CT). He went yard a second time the following inning, beginning a string of back-to-back-to-back homers, combining with infielder Jeff Mainetti (Guilford, CT) and Kummerfeldt to extend the lead to 13-1.

Outfielder Ryan Rizzo (East Northport, NY) stroked a two-run home run over the left field fence in the top of the seventh.

Freshman right-hander Nicholas Melchiorre (Mount Laurel, NJ/Holy Cross) took the loss in four innings of work. Santos registered the squad's lone hit.

The Knights host QU in the series finale at noon, Saturday, April 7.