Live Stats

The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team will look to keep its momentum from the weekend when they return home Tuesday to take on Manhattan after playing its last 10 contests on the road.  First-pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex in Teaneck, NJ.

Last Time Out: FDU (7-11-1) played well on the road this past weekend as they took three out of four from Quinnipiac and currently sits in sixth place in the NEC.  The Knights took game one, 8-4, before falling 11-4 in seven innings in the second game.  FDU won game three, 5-3 in seven innings, before blasting the Bobcats in the series-clinching win, 11-2.

Freshman Shane Siebler (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth Area) hit .500 in the series (7-for-14) with one double and one RBI.  Fellow classmate Riley Moonan (Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero North) hit .417 (5-for-12) with three doubles, three RBIs, three runs scored, four walks and a stolen base, while slugging .667 and posting an on-base percentage of .588.  For his performance, he was named NEC Rookie of the Week.

Junior Eric Anderson (Allendale, N.J./Northern Highlands) hit .357 (5-for-14) with three doubles, five RBIs, three runs scored, one walk and one sacrifice fly, while slugging .571 and recording an on-base percentage of .412.  Senior Ryan Kresky (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) rocked four doubles, picked up three RBIs, scored six runs and drew four walks.

Junior Craig Warner (Coral Springs, Fla./Stoneman Douglas) earned the victory on the mound in the opener.  The righty was great over the first six innings before running into some trouble in the seventh and being pulled with one out.  Warner allowed four earned runs on nine hits in 6.1 innings, while walking one and striking out three.

Freshman Brendan Butler (W. Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) picked up his first career victory in game three of the series.  The righty pitched the first 4.0 innings and allowed three earned runs on six hits, while walking two and striking out one.
 
Senor Mike Eliasen (Swedesboro, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) picked up his team-leading third victory of the season in the series-clinching win in game four.  The co-captain retired the first 10 batters he faced, 20 of the first 21 and 22 of the first 24.  The 24^th batter struck out but reached first on a wild pitch.  In 8.0 innings of work, Eliasen scattered only four hits, while allowing two earned runs.  He walked one and struck out three.

Freshman Eric Snyder (Slatington, Pa./Northern Lehigh) was great out of the bullpen as he came on two collect two more saves, increasing his total to four on the season.  He pitched 2.1 innings, retiring all seven batters he faced, including one strike out.

Anderson leads the Knights in hitting (.444), home runs (5), RBI's (19), hits (28), slugging (.746) and on-base percentage (.519).  Kresky is hitting .357 on the year and leads the team in runs (17) and walks (16).  He has pounded out 25 hits, which includes nine doubles and two home runs, and has collected 13 RBI's while slugging .571 and recording an on-base percentage of .500.
 
Eliasen leads the pitching staff with his 3-1 record and 4.75 ERA.  With the exception of a couple innings, he has been the FDU ace as he has struck out 33 batters and has only walked four in 36.0 innings pitched.  Opponents are only hitting .254 off the righty.

Scouting Manhattan: The Jaspers (4-16), who are picked to finish third in the nine-team MAAC, are off to a tough start this season, losing 13 in a row over one stretch after splitting their first two games against Florida Atlantic.  Manhattan has gone 3-2 over its last five contests with wins at West Virginia, at home against Hofstra and the final game at Marist in a three-game series this past weekend, 7-3.  The Jaspers have played 19 of their 20 games on the road, including at Maryland, Seton Hall and High Point.

Junior outfielder Andrew Vega currently leads Manhattan in batting .324, hits (23-for-71), runs scored (10) and stolen bases (10-for-10).

As a team, the Jaspers are hitting .233 (144-for-618) with 63 runs scored (3.2 runs per game).  They have struck out 112 times, drawn 53 walks and play well defensively, making only 18 errors.  Opponents are hitting .297 (173-for-583) off Manhattan pitching and have scored 111 runs (5.6 runs per game), drawn 71 walks and struck out 96 times.

All-Time Series: This will be the 48^th contest in the all-time series, with the Knights leading, 30-17-1.  The series dates back to 1958, and the two programs have played each other multiple times each year from 1965-1981 as members of the old Metropolitan Conference.  The Jaspers defeated FDU last season, 9-1, in Riverdale, NY.  The Knights last won in 2009 by a score of 11-5.

Next Up: The Knights will take on Sacred Heart in a four-game series for their NEC home-opener at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex in Teaneck, NJ.  The first game will be on Friday, March 30 at 3:00 p.m.  Saturday will feature a seven-inning doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m. before the series finale Sunday at 1:00 p.m.