The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team suffered a tough loss Friday afternoon to conference foe Wagner, 3-1, in the first game of a four-game series at FDU Field in Teaneck.  With the game tied at one going into the sixth inning, Kevin McDonnell led off the frame with a solo home run.  Three batters later, Seth Boyd also hit a solo shot with two outs in the inning to put the Seahawks up, 3-1.  With the victory, Wagner improves to 10-12 (6-3 NEC) on the season, while the Knights fall to 4-18 (3-6 NEC) overall. 

Each team scored a run in the second inning.  Boyd scored on John Lucas' RBI single to put the Seahawks up, 1-0.  The Knights answered in the bottom half of the inning on junior Joe Martino (Westbury, NY/W.T. Clarke)'s RBI single, scoring sophomore Ryan Kresky (Freehold, NJ/Freehold).

Pitching was the story of today's game.  Senior Michael Strachman (Roslyn Heights, NY/Roslyn) (1-4) posted a solid pitching performance on the hill for the Knights despite being tagged for the loss.  He scattered eight hits in 7.0 innings of work.  All three runs he gave up were earned.  He walked one and struck out three.  Freshman Craig Warner (Coral Springs, Fla./Stoneman Douglas) pitched the final 2.0 innings.  He gave up one hit, walked three and struck out two.

Seahawks' starter Ryan Van Spronsen was just a little bit better on the mound today.  He earned the win by going 7.0 innings.  He only allowed five hits, struck out four, and did not walk a batter.  Ian Karllson pitched the final 2.0 innings to earn the save.  He held the Knights' hitless. 

Martino collected two hits for the Knights.  McDonnell and Lucas each had two hits for the Seahawks.

Games two and three of the series are scheduled for tomorrow at FDU Field in Teaneck.  First pitch for game one is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.