The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team dropped a pair of seven-inning contests to Bryant on Saturday afternoon, 7-0 and 9-2, at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex in Teaneck. With the victories, the Bulldogs improve to 29-23 (18-12 NEC) on the season, while the Knights fall to 12-37 (9-22 NEC) overall.
In game one, the visitors hung a five spot on the board to take an early 5-0 lead after one inning. Walks and a couple of fielding miscues by the Knights led to big inning by Bryant.
Kevin Brown homered over the right field fence with two outs in the top of the second to extend the Bulldogs' lead to 6-0.
The Bulldogs tacked on one more run in the top of the fifth on Jamie Skagerlind's two-out double down the right field line which resulted in the final score, 7-0.
Senior Nick Melchiorre (Mt. Laurel, NJ/Holy Cross) (Mt. Laurel, NJ) (3-8) was charged with the loss but pitched well after a shaky first inning. In his final start on the mound as a Knight, he went 6.0 innings, allowing seven runs, six earned, on six hits, while walking six and striking out six.
John Michael Ryan picked up the victory on the mound for the Bulldogs as he limited the Knights to only two hits on the day in the complete-game shutout effort. He walked one and struck out three.
In game two, the Knights took their first lead of the series as they took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. Senor Erik Pollag (Sicklerville, NJ/Paul VI) (Sicklerville, NJ) led off the frame with a walk, and senior DJ Robinson (Woodbury, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) (Woodbury, NJ) followed with a single through the left side to put runners on first and second with no one out. Sophomore Eric Anderson (Allendale, N.J./Northern Highlands) (Allendale, NJ) advanced both runners up one base with a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt. With one out, junior Mike Eliasen (Swedesboro, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) (Swedesboro, NJ) came through with an RBI sacrifice fly to left field to score Pollag.
However, the lead was short-lived as Bryant's Tim Norton led off the top half of the third with this third home run of the series to tie the game at one.
In the top of the fourth, the Bulldogs scored one more run to go ahead, 2-1. With one out and runners on the corners, Mike Delponte hit a dribbler back to the pitcher for an RBI groundout that was weak enough to allow the go-ahead run to score.
The Knights came back with a single run in the bottom half of the fourth to tie the game at two although they had a great shot to score more than one run. Dillon and Pollag hit back-to-back singles to start the inning. Robinson was hit by pitch on a 3-2 count to load the bases. Anderson then drew a RBI bases-loaded walk to tie the game. With still nobody out, Eliasen laced a line drive to center field for the first out, but it was not hit deep enough to score Pollag from third. Junior JT Sherba (Binghamton, NY/Binghamton) (Binghamton, NY) then hit into some tough luck to end the inning. He hit a rocket on the ground back to the pitcher, who made a nice snag, and was able to turn the 1-2-3 inning-ending double play to end the Knights' threat.
The Bulldogs took control of the game with a four-run sixth inning to take a 6-2 lead. With runners on first and second and two outs, Norton continued his big series with a two-run double to deep left-center field. Adam Claire then doubled home Norton, while Colin Shepard capped the scoring by driving home Claire with an RBI single to left field.
Bryant put the game away in the top of the seventh on a three-run blast by Skagerlind to put the game in the books, 9-2.
Despite being tagged with the loss on the mound, senior Chris Theordor (Staten Island, NY/Staten Island Tech) (Staten Island, NY) (1-8), who was also making his final start on the hill in a Knights' uniform, pitched well enough to deserve a better fate. Over 5+ innings of work, he allowed three runs, all earned, on seven hits, while striking out one and not allowing a walk. The Knights bullpen allowed six runs, all earned, on six hits over the final two innings.
Mark Andrews picked up the win as he pitched the final four innings in relief for the Bulldogs. He limited the Knights to only one hit and did not allow a run.
The Knights only managed five hits in the game as Robinson went a perfect 2-for-2. Pollag reached base three times as he singled and drew two walks, while scoring a run. Anderson and Eliasen each had an RBI, while Dillon scored the other run.
The Knights and Bulldogs will conclude their four-game series on Sunday. It will also be the final game of the year for the Knights as the nine seniors will be honored with a ceremony before the game. First-pitch at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex in Teaneck is scheduled for Noon.
