Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

TEANECK, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team split its doubleheader with LIU Brooklyn on Sunday at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex. The Knights came from behind and hung on to take the seven-inning opener, 4-3, before coming up short in the nightcap, 11-9. With the split, the Knights are now 5-24 (2-14 NEC) on the season, while the Blackbirds are 10-21 (6-6 NEC) overall.

In the first game, neither side scored over the first three innings until FDU starter, senior Matt Cadigan (Freehold, N.J./Freehold), allowed his first of the contest, a wind-aided home run to John Ziznewski over the right-field fence to lead off the top of the fourth, to give LIU a 1-0 lead. Later in the inning, Diego Perez drove home the second run with a two-out single up the middle to extend the lead to 2-0.

However, FDU responded in the bottom half of the frame to take a 3-2 lead. With runners on second and third and one out, freshman Ryan McGrath (Lansingburgh, N.Y./Lansingburgh) drove home senior Eric Anderson (Allendale, N.J./Northern Highlands) with an RBI sacrifice fly to left field for the first run. Freshman Joel Roman (East Hartford, Conn./East Hartford) followed with an RBI double down the right-field line to plate fellow classmate Dylan Sprague (Brunswick, N.Y./Averill Park) from second, and Roman then gave the Knights the lead when he scored from second, as Ziznewski booted a potential inning-ending groundball at shortstop off the bat of sophomore Jack Loftus (Dumore, Pa./Dunmore).

Sophomore Anthony Calise (Pearl River, N.Y./Pearl River) relieved Cadigan to start the top of the fifth and kept the momentum with FDU by pitching a scoreless inning. In the bottom half of the frame, sophomore Riley Moonan (Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero North) gave the Knights a big insurance run with an RBI single to right-center field, which scored senior Kyle Weeks (Middle Island, N.Y./Longwood) from second base.

Sophomore Yonah Perline (Dix Hills, N.Y./St. Dominic) then came on to pitch the sixth inning and got two outs but ran into trouble by loading the bases, forcing Head Coach Gary Puccio to bring in closer Eric Snyder (Slatington, Pa./Northern Lehigh). The sophomore got a fly out to Moonan in center field to end the threat.

After FDU had runners on first and third with one out in the bottom of the sixth and failed to score, Snyder ran into a bit of trouble in the top of the seventh, as he allowed a lead-off single to Kyle Demarco, who advanced to second on a wild pitch and took third on a balk. Ziznewski, who was the next batter, drove home Demarco with an RBI groundout to shortstop, cutting the Knights' advantage to 4-3.

After Snyder recorded the second out, he issued a walk and allowed a single to left-center field to put the tying run at third base, but he induced a weak groundball back to the mound, which gave him his second save of the season and FDU a 4-3 victory.

Cadigan (1-1), who was making his second start of the season on the bump, allowed two earned runs on four hits, walked two and struck out three over his 4.0 innings of work.

Moonan, Anderson and Roman each had two hits to lead the Knights' offense, which collected eight safeties.

Blackbirds' starter Chance Fugilstahler was charged with the loss after falling to 0-3 on the season. The southpaw allowed three runs, two earned, on four hits while walking none and striking out three in four innings.

LIU managed seven hits off FDU pitching, with Mike Garcia and Chris Untereiner each collecting a pair and Ziznewski driving in both runs.

In game two, the Blackbirds loaded the bases off Knights' starter Joe Borelli (Wallingford, Conn./Mark T. Sheehan ) in the top of the first and scored on Untereiner's two-run double and Garcia's RBI groundout to take an early 3-0 lead.

FDU loaded the bases in the bottom half, courtesy of three-consecutive errors to start the inning, which loaded the bases. But the Knights could only score one run, as Weeks scored on a 4-6-3 double play that Anderson grounded into.

LIU extend its lead to 6-1 in the top of the third with a pair of RBI doubles off the bats of Kevin Needham and Garcia and an RBI groundout from Perez.

But FDU answered in the bottom of the inning with three runs of its own to cut the deficit to 6-4. With runners on second and third and nobody out, Moonan drove home Weeks with an RBI double to right. After a pop out and a groundout, McGrath came through with a clutch two-run double to the gap in right-center field to score sophomore Ryan MacDonald (Bethpage, N.Y./Island Trees) and Moonan.

After Needham got a run back for the Blackbirds in the top of the fourth with a two-out RBI single, the Knights responded quickly once again, scoring five times in the bottom of the frame to take a 9-7 lead. The Knights loaded the bases to start the inning with a pair of singles and a walk before MacDonald singled home freshman John Giakas (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) for the first run.

Moonan followed and crushed a single off the first baseman, which rolled down the right-field line to allow sophomore Jordan Ritz (Newport News, Va./Woodside) and Weeks to scamper around the bases and tie the game, 7-7. After Anderson, who was hitting cleanup in the order, dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners to second and third, MacDonald was able to give FDU the lead when he scored on a wild pitch, and Sprague drove home Moonan with an RBI single to left field to cap the scoring.

Senior Craig Warner (Coral Springs, Fla./Stoneman Douglas), who replaced Borelli in the top of the fourth to get the final out of the inning, pitched a 1-2-3 fifth to keep the momentum with the Knights. FDU had a chance to tack on in the bottom of the frame, but Giakas was left stranded at third.

In the top of the sixth, Warner ran into trouble and allowed LIU to tie the game, 9-9, as he gave up an RBI single and RBI sacrifice fly.

With the score still tied at nine in the top of the eighth, Ziznewski gave the Blackbirds the lead for good when he hit a one-out, two-run homer off Calise, which gave LIU an 11-9 lead.

In their last at bat, the Knights loaded the bases with two outs, but Giakas fouled out to the first baseman to end the game, giving the Blackbirds the 11-9 win and the series victory.

The FDU offense pounded out 13 hits but could not take advantage of six LIU errors. Moonan, Sprague, Giakas and Ritz each had two hits, while Moonan collected three RBI and two runs. Weeks, who batted leadoff for the Knights, scored three times. MacDonald also had two runs and an RBI, while McGrath collected two RBI.

Borelli lasted only 3.2 innings and had problems with control, issuing five walks while striking out none and allowing seven earned runs on six hits. Calise (0-1) was tagged with the loss, as he allowed two earned runs on one hit over his 2.0 innings on the mound.

The Blackbirds picked up nine hits, with Demarco, Ziznewski and Needham each collecting two. Pete Leonello scored three times out of the lead-off spot, while Ziznewski also scored three times and drove home three. Needham also had three RBI and two runs.

Needham (1-0) also picked up his first victory of the season after pitching the final five innings on the bump. He held FDU scoreless and scattered five hits while walking none and striking out four. The Knights did all their damage off starter Brad Reimer, who lasted only 3+ innings after being charged with nine runs, five earned, on seven hits.

“I thought we played some good baseball this weekend,” Puccio said. “We were in almost every game, and I thought we did some good things out there. The first game was almost a carbon copy of how we want to win games, and we failed to put the game away in the second game, but we fought back to give ourselves a chance.”

FDU will return to action on Wednesday, April 17 when it hosts Saint Peter's in a makeup contest that was rained out earlier in the season. First pitch at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex is scheduled for 3 p.m.