The Fairleigh Dickinson men's baseball team let a late lead slip away and was defeated by Delaware, 10-6, this afternoon in Newark, DE. The Knights led 6-4 in the seventh, but the home team scored three times in both the seventh and eighth innings to complete the four-game sweep. The Knights have now dropped eight games in a row. The Blue Hens improve to 9-7 on the season, while the Knights fall to 1-11 overall.
The Knights took a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning on junior Steven LaForge (Garfield, NJ/St. Mary)'s double that plated sophomore Scott Morrison (Coral Springs, FL/J.P. Taravella), and junior Brian Dillon (Sarasota, FL/Cardinal Mooney)'s sacrifice fly that scored sophomore Matt Holsman (Coral Springs, FL/Stoneman Douglas).
Freshman Eric Anderson (Allendale, N.J./Northern Highlands) led off the fourth inning with his second home run of the season to extend the lead to 3-0.
Delaware got on the board in the bottom half of the inning on a two-run single by DJ Long.
Still up 3-2 in the sixth, the Knights tacked on three more runs to extend their lead to 6-2. Junior DJ Robinson (Woodbury, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) singled to left field, and an error by the Blue Hens' left fielder allowed Dillon to score on the play. The big blow in the inning came off the bat of junior Joe Martino (Westbury, NY/W.T. Clarke) as he connected on his first home run of the season. The round-tripper scored Robinson.
In the bottom of the sixth junior Zach Kisling (Marlboro, NJ/Marlboro Central) relieved freshman starter Matt Cadigan (Freehold, N.J./Freehold). Making his first career start on the hill, the lefty pitched 5.0 innings, scattering ten hits, and giving up two runs, both earned.
Kisling failed to retire a batter and gave up an RBI double to Steve Ulaky. Freshman Craig Warner (Coral Springs, Fla./Stoneman Douglas) then relieved Kresky and was able to get out of the jam. He gave up a sacrifice fly to the first batter he faced but escaped with no further damage. The Knights were still ahead, 6-4.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Blue Hens scored three times to take a 7-6 lead. Senior Terry Lydecker (Pompton Lakes, NJ/Pompton Lakes) relieved Warner on the mound to start the seventh but also was unable to retire a batter. Junior Spencer Kelly (Rockville, MD/The Bullis School) relieved Lydecker and retired the first man he faced on a groundout to short. However, a run scored on the play.
The Blue Hens tied the game at six when Pat Dameron scored on a error by the Knights. Delaware took the lead for good on Pat Mascoe's run-scoring single, giving them a 7-6 lead.
Delaware tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the eighth off Kelly to take a 10-6 lead, which would be the final score.
The Knights collected nine hits, and Dillon was the only player with multiple hits as he stroked two doubles. He also scored a run and drove in a run. Martino led the Knights with two RBI's, both coming on his home run.
Hank Yates led Delaware on offense. He went 3-for-3 and scored three times. As a team, the Blue Hens collected 15 hits of Knights pitching.
The Knights committed three costly errors, while Delaware only committed one miscue in the field.
Kelly (0-2) took the loss on the hill for the Knights. He gave four runs on three hits in 2.0 innings. Only two of the runs were earned. He walked two and did not strike out a batter.
Michael Londino (3-1) picked up the victory for Delaware. He pitched the final 3.1 innings to earn the win as he gave up no runs and allowed only one hit. He struck out three and walked two.
The Knights return to action on Friday, March 26, to open up Northeast Conference play versus Central Connecticut State. The game is also the official home opener for the squad. First pitch for the four-game weekend series is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at FDU Field in Teaneck.
