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TEANECK, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team will continue its 10-game homestand with a four-game set against Northeast Conference and Garden State-rival Monmouth this weekend at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex.

The Knights and the Hawks will play the opener on Friday at 3 p.m. before playing a pair of seven-inning contests on Saturday starting at 1 p.m., which will be aired on NEC Front Row. The series will conclude on Sunday with the 1 p.m. finale.

FDU (6-24, 2-14 NEC) has been playing better baseball of late and is coming off a 5-1 victory on Wednesday over Saint Peter's. Freshman Logan Frati (Manorville, N.Y./Eastport/South Manor) moved to 2-1 on the season after allowing only one earned run on three hits in 7.1 innings on the mound. The 6-3 right-hander did not issue a walk and struck out a career-high five.

Sophomore Riley Moonan (Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero North), who had two RBI in the win over Saint Peter's, is currently on a seven-game hit streak and is hitting .368 over his last five games with six RBI. He has seen his average climb to .281 and leads the team in runs (21), hits (32), at-bats (114), doubles
(8), triples (4), total bases (48), slugging percentage (.421) and is in a three-way tie for second-most RBI (11).

Senior Kyle Weeks (Middle Island, N.Y./Longwood) continues to be the only Knight to start and play all 30 games and leads the team in hitting with a .305 batting average. Like Moonan, Weeks has 32 hits and is the team leader in walks (17) and on-base percentage (.434). He is second to Moonan in runs (16), doubles (7), RBI (11) and total bases (39).

Freshman Joel Roman (East Hartford, Conn./East Hartford) is hitting .375 over the last 10 games and has seven doubles and nine RBI on the season. Senior Eric Anderson (Allendale, N.J./Northern Highlands) leads FDU with 12 RBI, with freshman Ryan McGrath (Lansingburgh, N.Y./Lansingburgh) one behind with 11.

Offensively, the Knights are hitting .258 and average 3.7 runs per game but are hitting .285 over their last five contests. On the mound, FDU has pitched to a 7.62 ERA in 244.1 innings of work while walking 144 and striking out 143.

In NEC play, the Knights are hitting .254 and average 3.4 runs per game. On the bump, they have an 8.30 ERA in 128.0 innings.

Frati and fellow classmate Nick Cuono (Hawthorne, N.J./Montvale Saint Joseph ) each have two wins to lead the pitching staff. Cuono, who will be Friday's starter, has thrown a team-high 37.2 innings, while Frati ranks second with 32.0 innings. Sophomore Brendan Butler (W. Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) has struck out a team-high 24 in 29.0 innings, and fellow classmate Yonah Perline (Dix Hills, N.Y./St. Dominic) has a team-best 4.76 ERA in 21appearances out of the bullpen, tying sophomore Anthony Calise (Pearl River, N.Y./Pearl River).

Monmouth (21-14, 12-4 NEC), who was picked to finish third in the nine-team NEC, is currently in second place in the conference standings. The Hawks split with Quinnipiac at home to start NEC play before taking three out of four against Central Connecticut State at home. Monmouth then won all four games against Mount St. Mary's on the road and won three of four at home over Wagner last weekend.

Earlier this week, the Hawks played a pair of Garden State foes on the road, as they defeated Rider, 3-1, before being edged by Rutgers, 7-6.

As a team, Monmouth is hitting .287 and averaging 5.0 runs per game. Senior Owen Stewart is hitting a stellar .413 (50-for-121) with 21 runs and 21 RBI. Junior Jake Gronsky is hitting .338 (44-for-130) with 23 runs, eight doubles, three triples, two home runs and 14 RBI, and senior Joe Bamford is the final Hawk to hit over .300 (.333, 36-for-108) with 16 runs, five doubles, one home run and a team-leading 22 RBI. Senior Chris Perret has scored a team-best 29 runs to go along with 33 hits, eight doubles, two home runs and 16 RBI.

Defensively, Monmouth has a .964 fielding percentage and has committed 45 errors. Opponents are averaging 4.2 runs per game while hitting .263 off Hawks' pitching. In 291.1 innings on the mound, the pitching staff has allowed 295 hits and 109 walks while striking out 174 and posting a 3.80 ERA.

Junior southpaw Andrew McGee is the ace of the staff and is scheduled to throw the opener. In eight starts, he is 6-1 with a 1.93 ERA and five complete games, including two shutouts. The two-time NEC Pitcher of the Week has allowed only 50 hits, 15 runs and nine walks in 65.1 innings while striking out 43 and limiting opponents to a .216 batting average.

With the final out of the upcoming four-game set, FDU and Monmouth will have faced each other 100 times. Currently, the Hawks lead the all-time series, 55-41, and won five of six against the Knights last season. After losing three of four to start conference play last season in West Long Branch, N.J., FDU dropped a pair to Monmouth in the NEC Tournament, including a heart-breaking, season-ending loss in 11 innings, 5-3.

After their weekend series, the Knights will conclude their 10-game homestand with a contest against Siena on Tuesday, April 23 at 3:30 p.m.