Box Score

TEANECK, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team could not hang on to a three-run lead after five innings and lost the opening contest of its four-game Northeast Conference series with Central Connecticut, 6-5, on Thursday at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex. With the victory, the Blue Devils improve to 12-12 (4-5 NEC) on the season, while the Knights fall to 7-20 (1-8 NEC) overall.

FDU had the tying run on third base and the winning run at first base with one out in the bottom of the ninth, but a pop out to second base and a strikeout prevented the Knights from extending the game or winning it.

After CCSU took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a lead-off home run by J.P. Sportman, FDU responded in the bottom half of the frame with freshman Zach Tondi (Wood-Ridge, N.J./Bergen County Technical)'s ringing two-out-two-run double off the top of the fence in right-center field, as sophomore Ryan Brennan (Mooresville, N.C./Mooresville) and junior Riley Moonan (Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero North) came around to score to put the Knights on top, 2-1.

FDU extended its lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the second on junior Shane Siebler (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth Area)'s one-out RBI single that scored sophomore Joel Roman (East Hartford, Conn./East Hartford). Siebler would steal second base with two outs but was left stranded when the inning ended.

With one out in the bottom of the fifth, Brennan increased the advantage to 5-1 on an RBI double down the left-field line, scoring Siebler, but Brennan would be left at third base at the end of the frame.

In the top of the sixth, the visitors scored five times, taking advantage of a key error, which led to the final two runs being unearned, to go in front, 6-4. The Blue Devils loaded the bases with nobody out and scored the first run on Pat Sirois's RBI single to right field, before Sportman delivered a two-run double that knotted the game at 4-4.

CCSU has runners on second and third after the double, and the next batter, Franklin Jennings hit a groundball to sophomore Patrick McClure (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius ) at first base. McClure went home to get the second out, but Tondi dropped the throw home, which allowed the base runner at third to score. Dominic Severino then hit a sacrifice fly to center field, which would have been the final out of the inning, but instead increased the Blue Devils' lead to 6-4.

Moonan trimmed the deficit to 6-5 in the bottom of the eighth with a towering solo home run over the right-center field fence that started the inning. The round tripper was Moonan's team-leading third of the season.

After CCSU went down in order in the top of the ninth, Roman led off the bottom half with a double to the left-center field gap. Sophomore Jose DeLeon (Paterson, N.J./Eastside) then came in as a pinch runner and moved to third on freshman Matt McCann (West Windsor, N.J./West Windsor-Plainsboro )'s productive groundout to the right side. Siebler then walked, and both runners were left stranded, allowing the Blue Devils to hang on for the victory.

Junior Ryan MacDonald (Bethpage, N.Y./Island Trees) received a no-decision after tossing 5+ innings on the bump. The southpaw allowed three earned runs on six hits, walked four and struck out three. Sophomore Ryan McGrath (Lansingburgh, N.Y./Lansingburgh) (2-1) was charged with the loss after entering the top of the sixth with runners on first and second. In his 1.0 inning of relief, he allowed three runs, one earned, on two hits and recorded a strikeout. Juniors Anthony Calise (Pearl River, N.Y./Pearl River), Yonah Perline (Dix Hills, N.Y./St. Dominic) and Eric Snyder (Slatington, Pa./Northern Lehigh) all threw a scoreless inning after the sixth.

The Knights recorded five of their seven hits off CCSU starter Brett Susi, who lasted only 4.1 innings, as FDU scored four earned runs while striking out three times and walking twice. Austin Salnitis earned the victory after tossing 1.2 innings of scoreless relief. Josh Ingham worked out of trouble in the ninth to register the save.

Brennan and Roman each had two hits to lead the offense. Tondi collected two RBI, and Moonan scored twice. Sportman had four of the Blue Devils' 10 hits, scored twice and drove home three.

The two sides will play a pair of seven-inning contests on Friday, with game one slated to begin at 1 p.m. at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex.