Box Score

TEANECK, N.J. -- Led by a strong pitching performance from junior John Chalupa (Monroe, N.Y./Monroe-Woodbury) coupled with a 12-hit performance from the offense, the Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team extended its winning streak to three games after defeating Lehigh for the second day in a row and the third time this season, 9-1, on Sunday at a very chilly Naimoli Family Baseball Complex. With the victory, the Knights improve to 6-7 on the season, while the Mountain Hawks fall to 5-8 overall. The win also marked the 350th career victory for Head Coach Gary Puccio in his career.

Chalupa (1-1) earned his first career victory after stifling the Lehigh offense by allowing only one hit and one earned run in 7.1 innings of work. The righty also walked five and recorded six strikeouts in the 111-pitch effort. Freshman Joe Flack (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's Boys) pitched the final 1.2 innings, yielding three hits while striking out two.

Junior Riley Moonan (Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero North), sophomore John Giakas (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville), junior Patrick McClure (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius ) and sophomore Joel Roman (East Hartford, Conn./East Hartford) all had two hits on the day. McClure led the way with three RBI and two runs, while Giakas came around to score three times.

FDU got on the scoreboard first in the bottom of the second when McClure scored after sophomore Ryan McGrath (Lansingburgh, N.Y./Lansingburgh) reached on an error by the shortstop with two outs, which gave the Knights a 1-0 lead.

Two innings later, Giakas and Brennan started the fourth inning with singles before completing a double steal to put runners on second and third with no outs. McClure came to the plate and drove home Giakas with an RBI groundout to short.

With two down in the frame and Brennan on third base, McGrath worked a walk, before junior Jose DeLeon (Paterson, N.J./Eastside) delivered a first-pitch RBI single to center field,
plating Brennan. Sophomore Dylan Sprague (Brunswick, N.Y./Averill Park) then laced an RBI double down the left-field line to score McGrath, extending the lead to 4-0.

McClure made it a 6-0 advantage in the bottom of the fifth with a two-run single, which scored Moonan and Giakas.

The lead then reached 8-0 in the bottom of the seventh after Roman doubled home Giakas with one out, while McGrath plated McClure with an RBI groundout.

The Mountain Hawks scored its only run in the eighth with one out when the first batter Flack faced, Tyler Brong, collected an RBI single.

FDU capped its scoring for the contest in the bottom of the eighth when Sprague scored on Brennan's RBI sacrifice fly.

Lehigh starter Nick Stephens was charged with the loss after allowing six runs, five earned, on eight hits in 4.0 innings of work.

The Knights will return to action on Friday, March 21 when they start a three-game series with nationally-ranked Seton Hall. First pitch in South Orange, N.J. is slated for 4 p.m.