Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

TEANECK, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team split its seven-inning doubleheader with Northeast Conference-rival Monmouth on Saturday at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex. The Knights hung on to win the opener, 7-5, before dropping the nightcap, 8-3. With the split the Burgundy and Blue are now 7-26 (3-16 NEC) on the season, while the Hawks are 23-15 (14-5 NEC) overall.

In game one, FDU trailed 1-0 heading into the bottom of the first but scored three times in their first at-bat and four more times in the bottom of the second to take a 7-1 lead.

Senior Kyle Weeks (Middle Island, N.Y./Longwood) started the scoring for the Knights with his one-out, two-run double to the right-center-field gap, plating sophomores Ryan MacDonald (Bethpage, N.Y./Island Trees) and Riley Moonan (Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero North). With two outs, senior Eric Anderson (Allendale, N.J./Northern Highlands) also found the right-center-field gap, as he doubled home Weeks to give FDU a 3-1 lead after one inning.

In the bottom of the second and two outs in the inning, Weeks cleared the bases with a three-run double to the gap in left-center field, scoring sophomore Jordan Ritz (Newport News, Va./Woodside), MacDonald and Moonan. Freshman Dylan Sprague (Brunswick, N.Y./Averill Park) followed and drove home Weeks with an RBI single to right field to give the Knights a 7-1 advantage.

After FDU left runners on second and third in the bottom of the third, Monmouth scored three times in the top of the fourth to cut the Knights' lead to 7-4. Two of the three runs scored in the inning were unearned.

The Hawks scored one more run in the top of the sixth to trim their deficit to 7-5. The visitors could have done more damage but left the bases loaded.

Sophomore Eric Snyder (Slatington, Pa./Northern Lehigh), who entered the contest to get the final out of the sixth, closed the door on Monmouth in the top of the seventh to give FDU the 7-5 victory.

The Knights pounded out 12 hits in the game, including four doubles. MacDonald, Moonan, Weeks, Sprague and Anderson each had two safeties, with MacDonald, Moonan and Weeks each scoring a pair of runs. Weeks also added a career-high five RBI.

Sophomore Brendan Butler (W. Sayville, N.Y./Sayville) (2-6) picked up the victory on the mound after limiting the Hawks to four runs, two earned, on five hits in 5.0 innings of work while walking four and striking out three. Snyder pitched the final 1.2 innings to pick up his third save of the season and needs one more to tie the program's all-time saves record.

The Hawks' T.J. Hunt (3-2) was charged with the loss, as FDU crushed him for seven earned runs and nine hits in only 1.2 innings. Chris McKenna came on in relief and limited the Knights to only three hits over the final 4.1 innings.

Seven different Monmouth players collected a hit, while Steve Wilgus and Jake Gronsky each had two RBI batting 1-2 in the order.

“The win in the first game was our best win of the year against a quality team with Monmouth being in second place in the NEC,” Head Coach Gary Puccio said. “I felt really good about that win because it was a quality one, and we played hard. Kyle Weeks (Middle Island, N.Y./Longwood) had a great game.”

In game two, the Hawks took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first off Chris Peret's RBI groundout.

But in the bottom of the second, FDU scored twice to take a 2-1 lead. Anderson drove home Weeks with an RBI groundout, and freshman Joel Roman (East Hartford, Conn./East Hartford) followed with an RBI sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Sprague.

Monmouth tied the game, 2-2, in the top of the third on Wilgus' one-out RBI single to right field.

After neither team scored in the fourth, the Hawks scored five times in the top of the fifth to take a 7-2 lead. The big blow of the inning came off the bat of Gronsky, who hit a one-out grand slam over the left-field fence.

The Knights got a run back in the bottom half of the fifth to cut the deficit to 7-3 when Ritz scored on MacDonald's one-out RBI single.

In the top of the sixth, Monmouth capped its scoring with one more run, as Gronsky picked up his seventh RBI of the day with a double to right field. FDU was unable to score over its final two at-bats, allowing the Hawks to take the nightcap, 8-3.

The Knights added 10 more hits in the contest but killed themselves by hitting into five double plays. Freshman Ryan McGrath (Lansingburgh, N.Y./Lansingburgh), Sprague and Ritz each had two safeties to lead FDU.

Senior Matt Cadigan (Freehold, N.J./Freehold) was given a no-decision after throwing a solid 4.0 innings on the bump. The southpaw limited Monmouth to only two earned runs on three hits while walking one and striking out none. Sophomore Anthony Calise (Pearl River, N.Y./Pearl River) (0-2), who started the fifth inning on the mound, was charged with the loss after allowing three earned runs without recording an out.

The Hawks had nine hits in the game, with Gronsky, Dan Shea and Connor White each collecting a pair. Shea and White also scored two runs, while Gronsky had five RBI.

Frank Trimarco moved to 4-0 for Monmouth after allowing three earned runs on nine hits in his 6.0-inning stint. The lefty walked one and struck out one.

“In the second game,(Matt) Cadigan gave us a great game, pitching us to a 2-2 tie, and I pulled him kind of early, so that was our demise, and I will take the blame for that,” Puccio said. “We are playing better, and we are a lot more competitive, all good signs. We played hard throughout the day, and hopefully, we can build off of that.”

The two sides will conclude their four game-set on Sunday, with first-pitched scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex.