Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

TEANECK, N.J. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team started Northeast Conference play off on the wrong foot after dropping both ends of its doubleheader with Sacred Heart on Saturday at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex. The Knights fell in the nine-inning opener to the Pioneers, 6-2, before losing in the seven-inning nightcap, 4-2, despite allowing only three hits. With the victories, Sacred Heart improves to 12-9 (2-0 NEC) on the season, while FDU falls to 6-13 (0-2 NEC) overall.

Walks troubled the Knights in the opener, as five FDU pitchers issued nine in the contest. Starting pitcher Nick Cuono (Hawthorne, N.J./Montvale Saint Joseph ) (1-2) was effectively wild over the first four innings before allowing three runs in the top of the fifth, which gave the Pioneers a 3-0 lead. The sophomore lasted 4.2 innings and allowed three earned runs on six hits while walking one and fanning one.

FDU had the tall task of facing Sacred Heart ace pitcher Kody Kreski, who came into the game with a 0.27 ERA in 33.1 innings pitched. The Knights first scoring opportunity came in the bottom of the third when sophomore Joel Roman (East Hartford, Conn./East Hartford) led off the inning with a single off the first-base bag, but he was left stranded at second base when the frame ended.

With one out and a man on in the top of the fifth after a lead-off walk, the Pioneers' Ted Shaw knocked a wind-blown-two-run-line-drive home run over the right-center field fence to give the visitors a 2-0 lead. Later on in the inning with runners on second and third and two down, Jason Sullivan delivered an RBI single through the left side to make it 3-0 and end Cuono's day.

Sacred Heart extended its advantage to 5-0 in the top of the sixth after Kenny Byram stroked a two-out-two-run triple to the gap in left-center field.

After Zack Short homered over the right-center field fence to lead off the top of the seventh, FDU went to work in the bottom half of the frame, stinging together four consecutive singles. The Knights scored their first run when redshirt sophomore Patrick McClure (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius ) singled home sophomore John Giakas (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) to make it 6-1.

But with the bases loaded and still nobody out, FDU hit into some tough luck when sophomore Ryan Brennan (Mooresville, N.C./Mooresville) lined into a 4-6 double play, which proved to be a big play because freshman Matt McCann (West Windsor, N.J./West Windsor-Plainsboro ) followed with an RBI single through the right side that scored fellow classmate Zach Tondi (Wood-Ridge, N.J./Bergen County Technical) to make it 6-2. FDU would end the inning with men on first and second, and it would be its last scoring chance in the contest.

Kreski limited the Knights to the two earned runs on seven hits in 7.0 innings while walking none and striking out three. Roman had two of the seven hits for FDU, while Sullivan went 3-for-5, with Byram collecting two hits and two RBI for the visitors.

Game two started out well for FDU, as it scored twice in the bottom of the first to take an early 2-0 lead. Sophomore Dylan Sprague (Brunswick, N.Y./Averill Park) led off with a double that deflected off the glove of the diving second baseman, which caused the ball to roll near the right-field line. After Sprague moved to third on a productive groundout by junior Shane Siebler (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth Area), junior Riley Moonan (Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero North) knocked home Sprague with an RBI infield single to third base.

Giakas then came to the plate and shot a single through the right side to put runners on the corners, and sophomore Ryan McGrath (Lansingburgh, N.Y./Lansingburgh) followed with a bloop RBI single down the right-field line, which scored Monnan and advanced Giakas to third. But the inning would end when Brennan grounded into a 4-6-3 double play.

With the Knights still leading heading into the top of the third, things would become bizarre late in the inning. Freshman starter Joe Flack (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's Boys) allowed a lead-off walk and a double to start the frame, putting runners on second and third. After recording a strikeout, he induced a groundball to Roman at third base, and FDU was able to get the man on third in a rundown to register the second out, which is when the Knights would run into more bad luck.

Flack got the next batter, Jesus Medina, to hit a 65-foot blooper into no-man's land in the triangle between shortstop, third base and the mound. Flack would field the ball, but his throw had no chance to get Medina. On the play, the runner from third scored, and the runner from second was already rounding third when Flack threw the ball to first, and he would score to tie the game at 2-2 on one of the most bizarre plays you will see in baseball.

After Siebler was left stranded at second base when the third inning ended, things became even more whacky for FDU. Flack got two quick fly outs to start the top of the fourth before hitting Connor McEvoy. The next batter, Keith Klebart, then hit a high pop up on the left side of the infield. With the wind playing tricks, McCann dropped the pop up at shortstop, as the ball hit both his glove and his face. On the play, McEvoy raced around the bases and scored the unearned run all the way from first base, giving the Pioneers the lead for good at 3-2.

Sacred Heart scored an insurance run in the top of the sixth on another weird play when Sprague raced over from his position at second base and caught a pop up off the bat of Klebart in foul territory. Medina was heads up at third base and scampered home after tagging up to extend the lead to 4-2.

Roman would double with one out in FDU's last at-bat in the bottom of the seventh, but he was left stranded at third base when the game ended in the Pioneers' favor.

Flack (0-4) was charged with a tough-luck loss for the Knights. He allowed four runs, three earned, on just three hits (two to Medina), walked three and struck out one in 5+ innings. Junior Yonah Perline (Dix Hills, N.Y./St. Dominic) struck out two and did not allow a hit in 2.0 innings of relief.

Sacred Heart's Jeff Stoddard went the distance in the victory. He yielded two earned runs on seven hits, walked none and struck out five. Giakas recorded two safeties for FDU.

The two sides will conclude their series on Sunday at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex with another doubleheader. Game one, which is scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m., will be seven innings, while the second contest will go the full nine innings.