Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

EMMITSBURG, Md. -- The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team ended its 2014 season on a positive note after sweeping its Northeast Conference doubleheader with Mount St. Mary's on Sunday at Straw Family Stadium. In the process, the Knights played the role of spoiler by knocking out both the Mount and LIU Brooklyn from contention for the upcoming NEC Tournament, as each team had a shot to make it going into the final day of the season. FDU rallied for a 3-1 victory in eight innings in the opener, before cruising to a 10-4 triumph in the nightcap and season finale. With the sweep, the Knights finish the year with a record of 15-32 (6-18 NEC), while the Mount ends their campaign at 17-24 (10-14 NEC).

Neither side scored over the first four innings of game one until the Mount plated an unearned run with nobody out in the bottom of the fifth to take a 1-0 lead. Junior starter John Chalupa (Monroe, N.Y./Monroe-Woodbury) plunked Chris Del Vecchio to lead off the inning and allowed him to advance all the way to third on a failed pickoff attempt, before Del Vecchio scored on a wild pitch. Chalupa would work into more trouble later in the inning with a pair of walks, but got a strikeout to end the threat.

FDU responded with a run in the top of the sixth to knot the game at 1-1. Sophomore Dylan Sprague (Brunswick, N.Y./Averill Park) reached on an infield single to third base to start the inning and advance to third after junior Riley Moonan (Syracuse, N.Y./Cicero North) followed with a single through the right side. Sophomore John Giakas (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) then collected a RBI fielder's choice that scored Sprague after beating out a potential double play.

The game was forced into extra innings after the Knights recorded the final out of the seventh inning at the plate after an infield single to Sprague at second base. The Mount's Tommy Quealy tried to score on the base-hit from second base for the game-winning run, but Sprague threw to sophomore Joel Roman (East Hartford, Conn./East Hartford) at third, who whipped the ball to Giakas at the plate to place the tag.

Junior Shane Siebler (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth Area) reached on a two-base error by the shortstop to start the top of the eighth and moved to third on freshman Matt McCann (West Windsor, N.J./West Windsor-Plainsboro )'s sacrifice bunt. After Sprague was intentionally walked, a wild pitch gave FDU the lead, as Siebler scored the go-ahead run, while Sprague advanced to second. Moonan followed with a walk, and Giakas singled home Sprague for a 3-1 lead, before junior Eric Snyder (Slatington, Pa./Northern Lehigh) retired the Mount in order in the bottom of the eighth to clinch the victory.

Snyder (3-1) earned the victory after tossing the final 2.0 innings and scattering two hits. Chalupa received a no-decision after limiting the Mount to one unearned run on four hits over 5.0 innings of work while walking two and fanning four. Junior Yonah Perline (Dix Hills, N.Y./St. Dominic) also pitched a 1-2-3 sixth inning.

Nick Riley took the loss on the bump for the Mount after yielding three runs – two earned – on six hits in 7.1 innings while walking two and striking out two.

Roman collected two of the Knights' six hits, with Giakas registering two RBI and Sprague scoring twice. Andrew Frazier recorded two of the Mount's six hits in the game.

Going into game two, FDU had eliminated the Mount from NEC Tournament contention, and the Knights then jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead. McCann singled to start the game, stole second, advanced to third on Sprague's single to center and scored on Moonan's RBI single to left field. After freshman Zach Tondi (Wood-Ridge, N.J./Bergen County Technical) singled with one out to load the bases, Sprague scored on a wild pitch, and redshirt sophomore Patrick McClure (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius ) singled home Moonan. Tondi capped the scoring when he came around on sophomore Ryan Brennan (Mooresville, N.C./Mooresville)'s RBI fielder's choice.

The Mount would score single runs in the second and third innings to slice the Knights' lead to 4-2, but FDU would score four runs in the top of the seventh and two more in the eighth to take a commanding 10-2 lead. The Knights plated four unearned runs with two outs in the seventh, as Roman and Siebler scored on a fielding error by the shortstop, before Tondi singled home McCann and Moonan. And in the eighth, McCann singled home Brennan, and Siebler scored on Moonan's RBI single.

The home team then scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth to make the final score 10-4. With the win in the nightcap, FDU knocked LIU out of the final NEC Tournament spot, and as a result of the sweep, propelled Wagner into the playoffs.

The Knights pounded out 14 hits in the season finale, with eight of the nine starters collecting at least one. McCann recorded three hits and scored twice, while Moonan, Tondi, McClure and Brennan all had two base knocks. Moonan and Tondi each had two RBI, and Moonan and Siebler both scored twice.

Five FDU pitchers limited the Mount to only three hits in the game while allowing only three earned runs. Junior Ryan MacDonald (Bethpage, N.Y./Island Trees) (2-2) picked up the victory after reliving fellow classmate Joe Borelli (Wallingford, Conn./Mark T. Sheehan ) in the third inning. The southpaw tossed 5.0 innings and did not give up a hit while walking one and fanning two.  The Knights knocked Mount starter Kevin Myers out after only one-third of an inning, as FDU tagged him for four earned runs on five hits.