Box Score

LEXINGTON, S.C. – The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team defeated Maryland Eastern Shore on Sunday morning to earn its first victory of the season.  The Knights (1-2) dropped the first two games of the series, but pulled out a 7-5 win in the finale.

Sophomores Bobby Romano (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan ) and Jason Fatzinger (Macungie, Pa./Emmaus) led the charge offensively with a pair of runs batted in.

Romano connected on RBI singles in the first and seventh innings, while Fatzinger did his damage with one swing in the fourth.   With the Knights down 3-2, Fatzinger smacked a two-run homer to left to put FDU in front.

UMES tied the game in the top of the seventh, but the Knights quickly regained the lead in the bottom of the frame.  Senior Patrick McClure (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius ) plated a run with a sacrifice fly and Romano drove in junior Ryan Brennan (Mooresville, N.C./Mooresville) to give the Knights a 6-4 lead.

The Knights added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI ground out by senior Dylan Sprague (Brunswick, N.Y./Averill Park) who pinch hit for senior Jose DeLeon (Paterson, N.J./Eastside).

Junior Logan Frati (Manorville, N.Y./Eastport/South Manor) pitched the first five innings and limited the Hawks to five hits.  He surrendered three runs, but all three were unearned.  He also struck out five UMES hitters.

Freshman Kyle Rockin McLaughlin (Palm City, Fla./Martin County) pitched 1.1 innings and surrendered a single unearned run.  Making his collegiate debut, he recorded a strikeout of the first batter he faced.

Junior Danny Demetrops (Stony Point, N.Y./North Rockland) (1-0) relieved McLaughlin in the seventh and worked out of trouble with a pair of strikeouts.  He allowed a solo home run in the eighth and pitched 1.1 innings to earn his first win of the season.

Brennan worked a scoreless ninth on the mound to earn his first career save.

Senior Shane Siebler (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth Area) recorded two hits in the game.  Romano and freshman Evan McDonald (Circleville, Ohio/Logan Elm) also had two hits.  McDonald and junior Matt McCann (West Windsor, N.J./West Windsor-Plainsboro ) each scored two runs for FDU.

Siebler and freshman Craig Alleyne II (Philadelphia, Pa./Springside Chestnut Hill Academy) each stole a base in the game with McCann swiping three.

The Knights will take a weekend off from competition before resuming play at Longwood on Friday, March 4.  The Knights and Lancers will play a three-game series in Farmville, Virginia.