The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team will be traveling to Bridgeport, CT this weekend to take on Sacred Heart in a four-game NEC series at Harbor Yard. Because of the weather forecast calling for rain on Saturday, the two teams will play a doubleheader on Friday and Sunday. Game one on Friday, April 15, will be nine innings, while the nightcap will be a seven inning contest. On Sunday, April, 17, game one will be seven innings, while the nightcap will be a nine inning game. First pitch for game one on Friday is scheduled for 5:00 p.m., while first pitch for game one on Sunday is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. The Knights (6-21, 3-9 NEC) will look to build on their 4-1 win over Long Island last Sunday, ending a six-game skid.
Scouting Sacred Heart
The Pioneers come into the weekend series with a record of 13-17 (5-7 NEC) and are currently tied for sixth place in the NEC. Last weekend, Sacred Heart stepped out of conference play and lost three out of four games to UNLV out in Las Vegas, NV. The Pioneers won the first game, 6-3, before losing the last three games by scores of 9-2, 8-6 and 10-9.
The Knights and the Pioneers have played 35 times, with Sacred Heart leading the all-time series, 25-10. The two teams first met in 1999 and have played every year since. The Knights won five of the first seven games in the series before the Pioneers won 21 of the next 22, including 16 straight from 2004-09 as FDU snapped its losing streak in the second game of a four-game series and won the final two games to take the series. The Pioneers won three of four games last season in Teaneck.
Leading the Knights
In 12 NEC games, senior Brian Dillon (Sarasota, FL/Cardinal Mooney) is hitting a healthy .405 (17-for-42) with three home runs, five RBI's and six runs scored Senior Erik Pollag (Sicklerville, NJ/Paul VI) is hitting .316 with five RBI's and five runs scored. After a big weekend against Long Island (8-for-13), junior Matt Holsman (Coral Springs, FL/Stoneman Douglas) is hitting .306 in NEC action with four doubles and four runs scored. Fellow classmate Ryan Kresky (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) is hitting .302 with three home runs, eight RBI's and seven runs scored out of the lead-off spot.
Senior Zach Kisling (Marlboro, NJ/Marlboro Central) has picked up two NEC pitching victories in relief as the lanky right-hander has appeared in seven games. Fellow classmate Spencer Kelly (Rockville, MD/The Bullis School) has made six relief appearances in NEC play and has converted two saves. In three starts on the hill, junior Mike Eliasen (Swedesboro, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) has posted a 3.74 ERA in 21.2 innings pitched including a complete game victory last time out against Long Island. He has allowed only nine runs, all earned, on 24 hits, while walking six and striking out 11. Senior Nick Melchiorre (Mt. Laurel, NJ/Holy Cross) has posted a 4.19 ERA in 19.1 innings pitched, while allowing only 15 hits, striking out eight and walking six. Sophomore Eric Anderson (Allendale, N.J./Northern Highlands), who made his first start in NEC play last weekend, will look to lower his 1.80 ERA after going 7.0 strong innings, allowing only four hits, walking two and striking out a career-high nine batters. He has appeared in a total of four conference games on the season.
Up Next
The Knights will travel to Newark, NJ for a mid-week game at NJIT on Wednesday, April 20, before traveling to New Britain, CT to take on Central Connecticut State for a four-game NEC series starting on Thursday, April 21.
