Box Score

TEANECK, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team completed its 10-game homestand with an overall record of 5-5 after shutting out Siena, 1-0, Tuesday afternoon at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex. With the victory, the Knights improve to 9-26 on the season, while the Saints saw their nine-game win streak snapped and fall to 17-22 overall.

After neither side scored over the first 7.5 innings, FDU scored the lone run of the game on sophomore Jordan Ritz (Newport News, Va./Woodside)'s RBI sacrifice fly to center field with one out in the bottom of the eighth, plating fellow classmate Jose DeLeon (Paterson, N.J./Eastside), who came in as a pinch runner after senior Eric Anderson (Allendale, N.J./Northern Highlands) led off the inning with a single.

Sophomore Eric Snyder (Slatington, Pa./Northern Lehigh) ran into a bit of trouble in the top of the ninth, as he allowed runners to reach second and third after recording the first two outs of the inning. But he was able to get a strikeout to end the game for his fourth save of the season and the 16th of his career, which ties the program record for most saves.

Freshman Nick Cuono (Hawthorne, N.J./Montvale Saint Joseph ) bounced back from the worst start of his career by putting together his best outing of the season. The righty received a tough no-decision after allowing no runs and five hits while walking three and striking out one in 7.0 innings of work. Sophomore Anthony Calise (Pearl River, N.Y./Pearl River) (1-2) picked up the victory after throwing a scoreless eighth inning.

“That was an incredibly well-played game by both sides,” Head Coach Gary Puccio said. “Nick Cuono (Hawthorne, N.J./Montvale Saint Joseph ) bounced back after giving up six runs in the first inning against Monmouth and not getting out of the inning, and to come back and throw seven-shutout innings was incredible.”

The first scoring threat of the game came in the top of the fifth when the Saints placed a runner on third base after a wild pitch with two outs, but Cuono induced a groundball to freshman Joel Roman (East Hartford, Conn./East Hartford) at third base to end the threat.

Siena threatened one inning later in the sixth, placing runners on second and third with two outs. Once again, Cuono got a groundball to Roman at third base to escape the jam.

In the bottom half of the sixth, the Knights put runners on the corners with one out before sophomore Ryan MacDonald (Bethpage, N.Y./Island Trees) grounded into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.

Both sides put runners on second base in the seventh but failed to score before FDU broke through with the only run of the game in the bottom of the eighth.

FDU picked up six hits on the day. Freshman Ryan McGrath (Lansingburgh, N.Y./Lansingburgh), who was not in the original starting lineup, paced the Knights by going 2-for-2 off the bench. Senior Kyle Weeks (Middle Island, N.Y./Longwood)' two-out double in the seventh inning extended his hitting streak to seven games.

The Saints also managed only six hits, with Brian Fay and Mike Allen each collecting a pair. On the mound, Bryan Goossens (1-4) was charged with a tough-luck loss after allowing one earned run on six hits in the complete-game effort. He did not walk or strike out anyone.

“Siena used its regular starting team that is in first place in the MAAC, and it was terrific to get a quality win against them,” Puccio said. “FDU baseball is about playing great defense, and we made some phenomenal plays; throwing strikes, and we did that all day; and getting a timely hit, and that happened today, too. And obviously give the ball to (Eric) Snyder and hopefully it's over.”

The Knights will return to action on Friday, April 26 when it travels to Emmitsburg, Md. to take on last-place Mount St. Mary's in the first contest of a four-game Northeast Conference series, with first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m.