Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score

The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team lost both games of its seven-inning doubleheader Saturday afternoon to Monmouth, 9-0 and 3-1, Saturday afternoon at the MU Baseball field in West Long Branch, NJ.  With the victories, the Hawks improve to 10-6 (3-0 NEC) on the season, while the Knights fall to 3-9-1 (0-3 NEC) overall.

In game one, FDU managed only four hits as Dan Smith stifled the Knights over the first six innings to pick up the win on the mound.  The lefty allowed only three hits as he struck out three and walked one.

Junior Eric Anderson (Allendale, N.J./Northern Highlands) (1-1) was tagged with the loss on the bump as he allowed four earned runs on seven hits in 2.1 innings of work, while striking out one and walking none.  The FDU bullpen yielded five earned runs on six hits over the final 3.1 innings.

Monmouth plated two runs in the bottom of the first to take a 2-0 lead and added single runs in the second and third innings before plating two and three runs in the fourth and fifth innings to take the contest, 9-0.

The second game was much more competitive as pitching dominated.  Neither team scored over the first three innings, but the Knights scored a run in the top of the fourth to take a 1-0 lead. 

FDU loaded the bases with nobody out in the inning as senior Ryan Kresky (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) led off the inning reaching first base after being hit by a pitch.  Anderson and junior Kyle Weeks (Middle Island, N.Y./Longwood) followed with back-to-back singles to fill the bases.  Freshman Pat McClure (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius ) hit into a fielder's choice with Kresky being forced at home, but fellow classmate Mike Hewson (Sayville, NY/Sayville) hit a RBI sacrifice fly to center field that scored Anderson  to give the Knights a 1-0 lead.  With runners on second and third with two outs, freshman Shane Siebler (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth Area) struck out swinging to end the threat.

Freshman Brendan Butler (W. Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) (0-2), who was charged with the loss for FDU, kept the momentum for the Knights as he retired the Hawks in order in the bottom of the fourth.

Two-out singles by Kresky and Anderson gave FDU a chance to extend its lead in the fifth inning, but Weeks flew out to right-center field to end the frame.

Monmouth tied the game at one in the bottom of the fifth.  Chris Perret singled through the right side and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt.  He then took third on a wild pitch and scored on Jon Guida's sacrifice fly to center field. 

After the Knights went down in order in the bottom of top of the sixth, the Hawks scored the go ahead runs to take a 3-1 lead.  Jake Gronsky doubled to lead off the inning and advanced to third on a groundout to Butler.  Owen Stewart then singled through the left side to give Monmouth the lead for good, and Ed Martin doubled to left-center field to give the Hawks a much-needed insurance run.

FDU put runners on first and third with two outs in the top of the seventh but failed to score as the Hawks took game two, 3-1.

Butler gave the Knights a quality start as he scattered five hits, while allowing three earned runs in going the six-inning distance.  The righty struck out three and walked one but threw three wild pitches. 

Andrew McGee pitched all seven inning for Monmouth as he allowed one earned run on six hits.  The lefty struck out five, walked one and hit three batters.

Anderson went 2-for-3 in the clean-up spot and scored FDU's lone run to lead the offense with Hewson driving in the only run.

Stewart collected a pair of hits in three at-bats, scored a run and picked up an RBI to pace Monmouth.

“I thought (Brendan) Butler pitched very well for a freshman against a quality team,” Head Coach Gary Puccio said.  “Little mistakes we made are magnified now because of our lack of offense production, and these mistakes are costing us opportunities to win games.  Hopefully next week from now we will learn from them and win some games.”

The Knights and the Hawks will conclude their four-game set with a game on Sunday afternoon.  First-pitch at MU Baseball field is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. in West Long Branch, NJ.