Box Score

TEANECK, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson lost a nonconference tilt to Army, 6-4, Wednesday at a very chilly Naimoli Family Baseball Complex. With the victory, the Black Knights improve to 9-14 on the season, while the Knights fall to 3-18 overall.

With the score tied at four with two outs in the top of the ninth, Army's Alex Jensen turned around a 0-2 pitch into a two-run single up the middle to give the visitors the lead for good, 6-4.

FDU took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third when sophomore Riley Moonan (Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero North) scored on an error off a failed pickoff attempt at third base. The Knights held the lead until the Black Knights tied the game in the top of the seventh.

Over the first six innings, freshman Logan Frati (Manorville, N.Y./Eastport/South Manor), who was making his second career start on the mound, limited Army to only two hits. After allowing a lead-off double to start the seventh, coupled with his throwing error into center field on a failed pickoff attempt, the righty was pulled, resulting in a final line of 6+ innings, three hits, one earned run, one walk and two strikeouts.

In the top of the eighth, the Black Knights scored three times to take a 4-1 lead. The big blow was a two-out-two-run single off the bat of Pat Mescher.

However, FDU came right back in bottom half of the inning and scored three times to knot the game at four. After the Knights loaded the bases to start the frame, freshman Ryan McGrath (Lansingburgh, N.Y./Lansingburgh) laced an RBI single through the right side to score Moonan, who recorded his third hit of the game to start the inning. Senior Kyle Weeks (Middle Island, N.Y./Longwood) then scored on freshman Dylan Sprague (Brunswick, N.Y./Averill Park)'s RBI groundout to first base to cut the lead to one.

After FDU reloaded the bases with two outs, sophomore Jordan Ritz (Newport News, Va./Woodside) struck out on a 3-2 pitch in the dirt, but the ball got away from the catcher, and freshman John Giakas (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) just beat the catcher to home plate to score and tie the game. Sophomore Ryan MacDonald (Bethpage, N.Y./Island Trees) then flied out to end the inning and the bases-loaded threat, setting up Army's winning rally in the top of the ninth.

Moonan led the Knights' 11-hit performance by going 3-for-5 with two runs out of the leadoff spot. Weeks, senior Eric Anderson (Allendale, N.J./Northern Highlands) and Giakas each added two hits.

Sophomore Yonah Perline (Dix Hills, N.Y./St. Dominic) (0-1) was charged with the loss after allowing one earned run in 0.2 innings of work. He got the final out in the eighth inning and the first out in the ninth before running into trouble.

“We definitely played better and played with a lot more enthusiasm,” Head Coach Gary Puccio said. “We fought back from 4-1 to tie the game, but we made a lot of stupid mistakes, and I just do not see us correcting those mistakes, yet. This many games into the season, we should have been correcting the mistakes, and I take the blame for that. We are going to start turning it around, and we are going to make sure we start playing smarter and real soon.”

The Black Knights threw five pitchers, and Patrick Gardner pitched the final 1.1 innings to pick up the victory. Jensen and Mescher each had two hits to lead Army's eight-hit attack.

FDU will return to Northeast Conference action this weekend with a four-game series against Wagner, April 5-7, at Richmond County Ballpark on Staten Island, N.Y.