The Fairleigh Dickinson University baseball team fell, 7-3, in its Northeast Conference opener versus visiting Mount St. Mary's University, Saturday, April 5 in Teaneck, NJ. Game two was halted due to darkness.
The Knights (4-19, 0-1 NEC) fell behind 5-0 following the initial three frames. In the top of the seventh, senior first baseman Josh Vittek (Eldersburg, MD) upped the advantage to 7-0, with a two-run homer to right field.
In the bottom half of the frame, Fairleigh Dickinson strung together a trio of runs on the strength of four hits. An RBI two-bagger courtesy of freshman first baseman Brian Dillon (Sarasota, FL/Cardinal Mooney) (Sarasota, FL) and an RBI base knock up the middle by senior infielder Luis Rosario (Bronx, NY/James Monroe) (Bronx, NY) highlighted the inning.
FDU junior southpaw John Meadus (Mt. Holly, NJ/Holy Cross) (Mount Holly, NJ) logged five innings, suffering the loss. The Mount's starter, sophomore right-hander Max Brittenham (Stamford, CT), went 8.0 innings to earn the victory, sitting down five in the process.
The Mountaineers (2-17, 1-0 NEC) were paced by two-hit efforts from senior outfielder Ryan Murray (Enola, PA), senior infielder Matt Eiden (Silver Spring, MD), and Vittek. Eiden added three RBI.
Dillon, Rosario, and freshman infielder Steven La Forge (Garfield, NJ) went for multiple hits.
Knights' sophomore lefty Terry Lydecker (Pompton Lakes, NJ/Pompton Lakes) (Pompton Lakes, NJ) worked 1.2 innings of scoreless relief.
In the nightcap, righty Nicholas Melchiorre (Mount Laurel, NJ) was perfect through four innings, en route to a no decision. The sophomore hurled seven innings, allowing two hits and fanning five.
A pair of Mountaineers, freshman right-hander Marshall Thomason (Stafford, VA) and righty Mike Matta (Woodbridge, VA) combined for 10 shutout innings. Matta worked eight innings, sitting down seven.
In the bottom half of the fifth, junior infielder Jeff Vincent (Murrysville, PA/Franklin Regional) (Murrysville, PA) was tagged out at home, marking the second occasion on the day he reached third and was putout trying to advance.
Fairleigh Dickinson sophomore right-hander Corey Jeffers (Woodbine, NJ/St. Augustine Prep) (Woodbine, NJ) entered from the bullpen to work the eighth. The following frame, junior righty Ben Breen (Plainview, NY) recorded the final two outs of the inning, in addition to tossing the 10th.
In extra innings, the umpire crew halted the contest due to darkness at 6:56 p.m. The remainder of the game will begin at noon, Sunday, April 6. The top portion of the 11th will start the action, while a second contest will start 30 minutes after the final out is recorded.
Fairleigh Dickinson junior outfielder Matt Maher (Peekskill, NY/JFK Catholic) (Peekskill, NY) banged out three hits, while Vincent notched two.
The teams conclude the series, which was switched from four game to three, at noon, Sunday, April 6.
