Live Stats

The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team will look to break its three-game losing streak this weekend when they take on the Leopards of Lafayette in a three-game series.  Game one of the series will take place on Friday at Kamine Stadium in Easton, PA with the first pitch scheduled for 2:45 p.m.  On Saturday, the Knights will host a doubleheader at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex in Teaneck, NJ.  First-pitch for game one is scheduled for Noon with game two set to begin 30 minutes after.  The first game will be a nine-inning contest, while the second game is scheduled for seven innings.

Last Time Out: FDU (1-4) played its first two home games of the season earlier in the week, falling to NYIT in 11 innings, 6-3, before losing to Stony Brook, 17-5.

Trailing 3-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth against NYIT, freshman Jordan Ritz (Newport News, Va./Woodside) singled home senior Matt Holsman (Coral Springs, FL/Stoneman Douglas) with the tying run to tie the game at three.  The Knights had a chance to win the game later in the inning along with the 10th inning but failed to execute before the Bears scored three times in the 11th to make the final score 6-3.

Senior Mike Eliasen (Swedesboro, NJ/Gloucester Catholic) pitched well on the mound to earn the victory for FDU.  He went 9.0 innings, scattering seven hits, allowing three earned runs, striking out five and allowing only an intentional walk.  Freshman Eric Snyder (Slatington, Pa./Northern Lehigh) (0-1) was tagged with the loss as he gave up three earned runs on three hits, while walking one and striking out one.

Senior Ryan Kresky (Freehold, NJ/Freehold) led the Knights' 10-hit attack as he reached base four times by going 3-for-4 with a double, a walk and an RBI.  Junior Eric Anderson (Allendale, N.J./Northern Highlands) went 2-for-5 with his second home run of the season, and Ritz drove home a run and scored another to help pace FDU.  The Knights did not help themselves as they hit into five double plays.

Against Stony Brook, FDU trailed 3-2 after three innings before the Seawolves exploded for seven runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to take a commanding 17-2 lead.  The Knights scored three in the fifth to make the final score 17-5.  Two costly errors in the fourth inning allowed Stony Brook to score seven runs as FDU gave them five outs.

Freshman starter Mitch Paz (Bridgeport, CT/St. Joseph) (0-1) took the loss on the hill for the Knights.  The lefty, who faced one batter in the fourth inning, pitched 3.0 innings, allowing four runs, all earned, on two hits.  He walked four and struck out one.  The FDU bullpen, which saw five pitchers throw, allowed 13 runs, nine earned, on 14 hits, while walking two and striking out one.

Six Knights collected a hit with Anderson and freshman Pat McClure (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius ) each collecting two RBI's, while Ritz scored two runs.

Scouting Lafayette: The Leopards (3-5), who are picked to finish fifth in the six-team Patriot League, are coming off a 6-3 home win this past Tuesday against Rider to snap a four-game losing streak.  Lafayette opened its season by winning two of three at VMI before losing at La Salle (11-1) and swept in a three-game series at James Madison last weekend.

Junior infielder Kevin Casey is hitting .545 (12-for-22) with a team-leading eight runs scored, one home run, one double and five RBI's, while slugging .727.  As a team, the Leopards are hitting only .244 (62-for-254) with 38 runs scored in eight contests (4.8 runs per game).  Lafayette has struck out 62 times, drawn 25 walks and has made nine errors on defense.  Opponents are hitting .306 (78-for-255) off Leopards' pitching and have scored 57 runs (7.1 runs per game), drawn 34 walks and struck out 46 times. 

Lafayette is projected to start senior right-hander John Gentile, senior right-hander Ethan Perro and sophomore lefty Connor Ortolf on the mound in the series.

All-Time Series: The Leopards lead the all-time series 8-4.  The two programs last met in 2006 as Lafayette won all four games in home-and-home doubleheader.  Lafayette has won six straight in the series with the last FDU win coming during the 1999 season, an 18-5 victory in Fort Myers, FL.

Next Up: The Knights will host Saint Peter's on Tuesday, March 13 before traveling to St. John's on Wednesday, March 14.  First-pitch for Tuesday's contest is scheduled for 3:00 p.m., while first-pitch for Wednesday's game will also begin at 3:00 p.m.