Box Score

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team dropped the final contest of its four-game Northeast Conference-opening series with Central Connecticut State, 5-2, Sunday afternoon at CCSU Baseball Field. With the victory, the Blue Devils sweep the series and improve to 9-6 (4-0 NEC) on the season, while the Knights fall to 3-13 (0-4 NEC) overall.

Things looked promising for FDU in the top of the first after sophomore Riley Moonan (Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero North) led off the game with a single to center field before moving to second base on fellow classmate Jordan Ritz (Newport News, Va./Woodside)'s sacrifice bunt. Senior Kyle Weeks (Middle Island, N.Y./Longwood) then doubled home Moonan to put the Knights ahead 1-0.

Weeks advanced to third on a groundout, and senior Eric Anderson (Allendale, N.J./Northern Highlands) walked to put runners on the corners with two outs, but FDU failed to score more runs.

In the bottom of the inning, CCSU answered with four runs to take a 4-1 lead. Three of the runs scored with two outs, with the final two scoring on a wild pitch.

In the top of the third, the Knights put runners on the corners with two outs but could not score.

The home team extended the lead to 5-1 in the bottom of the fifth by scoring an unearned run on a throwing error with two outs.

Heading into its final at-bat and still trailing 5-1, FDU put the first two runners on in the ninth, as pinch hitter Ryan MacDonald (Bethpage, N.Y./Island Trees) walked and sophomore Shane Siebler (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth Area) reached on an infield single. With one out, both runners moved up 90 feet after a wild pitch to second and third.

Ritz then delivered an RBI sacrifice fly to center field to cut the lead to 5-2, and Weeks followed with a walk to bring the tying run to the plate with two outs. However, freshman Ryan McGrath (Lansingburgh, N.Y./Lansingburgh) grounded out to second base to end the game, giving the Blue Devils the 5-2 victory.

Siebler led the Knights' eight-hit performance with a 2-for-3 effort, as seven of the nine starters collected at least one hit.

Freshman Nick Cuono (Hawthorne, N.J./Montvale Saint Joseph ) (2-1) was charged with his first career loss after allowing five runs, four earned, on eight hits while walking none and striking out two in 6.0 innings of work. He pitched well after a rocky first inning, which saw him get touched for four runs.

Jack Greenhouse (3-1) picked up his third victory of the season after limiting FDU to only one earned run on seven hits over 7.0 innings, as he walked three and struck out four. Brendyn Karinchak picked up his third save of the season and second of the series after recording the final two outs in the ninth inning.

Dylan DelaCruz had three of CCSU's nine hits out of the lead-off spot and scored two runs to pace the Blue Devils' offense.

The Knights will return to action on Thursday, March 28 when they return home to host Bryant, the NEC preseason favorite, in the first game of a four-game set at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex, with first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m.