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TEANECK, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team will look to bounce back from a tough Northeast Conference-opening weekend when it returns home to take on conference-favorite Bryant in a four-game set this weekend at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex. The series will feature a pair of doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday because of Easter Sunday, with first pitch for both twinbills scheduled for 12 p.m.

Friday's doubleheader will feature a nine-inning first game, followed by a seven-inning contest in game two, and Saturday's doubleheader will start out with a seven-inning game and conclude with a nine-inning contest in the nightcap. Saturday's twinbill will be broadcast live on NEC Front Row

The Knights (3-13, 0-4 NEC) had a tough time last time out at Central Connecticut State, losing all four games to the projected second-place team in the NEC. Sophomore Shane Siebler (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth Area) hit .375 (3-for-8) in the series with two walks, a triple and a run. Fellow classmate Jordan Ritz (Newport News, Va./Woodside) hit .333 (4-for-12) with one walk, one run, one RBI and one stolen base, while freshman Dylan Sprague (Brunswick, N.Y./Averill Park) also collected four hits, including his first career home run, to go along with a double and two runs.

Overall, senior Kyle Weeks (Middle Island, N.Y./Longwood) is hitting .357 to lead an offense that is hitting .253 overall and averages 3.4 runs per game. The tri-captain and second baseman, who is the only player to start all 16 contests this season, leads FDU in hits (20), at-bats (56), doubles (6), total bases (26), slugging percentage (.464), hit by pitch (3) and on-base percentage (.478). He also has nine RBI and 10 walks, both ranking second on the team.

Sophomore first baseman Ryan MacDonald (Bethpage, N.Y./Island Trees) is the only other player hitting over .300, as the southpaw is hitting .325 (13-for-42). Senior tri-captain Eric Anderson (Allendale, N.J./Northern Highlands) has one home run and a team-leading 11 RBI, while sophomore Riley Moonan (Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero North) has scored a team-best 13 runs.

Freshman Nick Cuono (Hawthorne, N.J./Montvale Saint Joseph ) has been FDU's most effective starting pitcher this season. In a team-leading 21.2 innings pitched, the righty is 2-1 with a 5.82 ERA and leads the starters in wins and ERA.  Sophomore Brendan Butler (W. Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) leads the staff with 19 strikeouts in 20.2 innings of work, and out of the bullpen, senior southpaw Matt Cadigan (Freehold, N.J./Freehold) has been strong in 10 appearances, posing a 2.38 ERA in 11.1 innings on the bump.

The Knights will throw senior Craig Warner (Coral Springs, Fla./Stoneman Douglas) in the opener. The righty is 0-3 on the season with a 7.17 ERA in 21.2 innings. However, over his last two starts, he has posted a 3.75 ERA in 12.0 innings. Butler and sophomore Joe Borelli (Wallingford, Conn./Mark T. Sheehan ) will each throw one of the seven-inning contests, but it has not been determined which game they will throw. Cuono will then start the series finale.

The Bulldogs (10-9-1, 4-0 NEC) are coming off a sweep of Mount St. Mary's in their conference opener last weekend at home and a victory over Boston College at home on Wednesday. Bryant has won five straight, six of seven and 10 of its last 13 after starting the season 0-6-1, which included four losses at No. 5 Oregon State in early March, including a 2-1 decision in 10 innings. The Bulldogs won a pair of games over Wright State and Dayton before dropping two of three to perennial Big Ten-power Ohio State.

The strength of the reigning NEC regular season champs is their pitching staff, as their 2.92 ERA ranks 40th in the country. The staff also ranks 19th in hits allowed per nine innings (7.24), 26th in WHIP (1.17), 27th in strikeouts per nine innings (8.4) and 36th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.59).

Senior Peter Kelich is scheduled to start game one on the mound for Bryant. The Jackson, N.J. native is 2-2 on the season and has posted a 2.12 ERA in a team-leading 29.2 innings pitched. The 2012 NEC Pitcher of the Year has won Pitcher of the Week twice this season and has allowed opponents to collect only 22 hits and hit .202 while striking out 27 and walking only nine.

Sophomore Kevin McAvoy, who was the 2012 NEC Rookie of the Year, will start game the second game. In five starts, the 6-3 righty is 1-1 with a 3.58 ERA in 27.2 innings of work. Opponents are hitting .230, as he has allowed 22 hits while walking 12 and striking out 22.

Graduate student John Healy, who is a perfect 3-0 in six appearances, including two starts, will start game three and has struck out 27 batters in 27.2 innings and has walked only eight while allowing 17 hits. The 6-4 southpaw has a 3.32 ERA and opponents are hitting .224.

Staring the series finale will be junior Craig Schlitter, who is 2-3 on the season with a 4.34 ERA. In five starts, the righty has pitched a team-best 29.2 innings and has a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 13.5-to-1, striking out 27 and walking only two on the season.

On offense, the Bulldogs are hitting .245 and are scoring 4.3 runs per contest. Senior outfielder Kevin Brown, who is the only player to start all 20 games this season, is hitting .366 (26-for-71) with two home run, 10 RBI, 10 runs and 15 walks. Sophomore outfielder
Jordan Mountford leads the team with 12 runs, while fellow classmate John Mullen leads the squad with 18 RBI and eight doubles.

Bryant leads the all-time series with FDU, 10-2, as the two sides started playing each other in 2010. The Bulldogs won the first eight in the series before the Knights won two of the four games at Bryant last season, April 27-29. The Bulldogs won the opener, 9-1, but FDU bounced back in the Saturday's doubleheader, sweeping the twinbill by scores of 3-1 and 5-3. Bryant then won the series finale, 5-1.

After their four-game set with Bryant, the Knights will return to action on Wednesday, April 3 when they host Army in a midweek-nonconference game scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex.