Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team concluded the 2016 regular season with a doubleheader split against LIU Brooklyn on Sunday.  The Knights finish the regular season with a 26-26 record and a 16-15 mark in Northeast Conference play.  Sunday's win also clinched FDU's spot in the 2016 NEC Tournament, which will be played May 26-29 at Dodd Stadium in Norwich, Connecticut.

In the first game, FDU lost 8-7 in extra innings and the Knights then won the second game 17-2.

"This is the third time in five years that FDU is going to the playoffs and I think we have established that we are a very respectable baseball program in the NEC," head coach Gary Puccio said after Sunday's doubleheader.  "I am truly proud of the effort these guys put forth to get it done this year.  We overcame a lot of injuries and they did a super job."

LIU falls to 16-34 and 10-17 in the NEC.

GAME ONE
The Knights opened the first game by scoring three runs in the first inning.  Senior John Giakas (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) drove in a run with a single and redshirt junior Ryan Brennan (Mooresville, N.C./Mooresville) followed with a two-run home run.

LIU scored two runs without the benefit of a hit in the bottom of the first to make it a 3-2 game.

In the third inning, FDU added two runs with the second coming on a RBI single by senior Patrick McClure (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius ).

However, LIU grabbed the lead with five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Trailing 7-5 in the fifth, McClure drew a bases loaded walk to force in a run and senior Joel Roman (East Hartford, Conn./East Hartford) plated the tying run with a sacrifice fly.

The game remained scoreless until the eighth inning when LIU's Brian Lamboy singled to score the go ahead run and give LIU a walk-off victory.

Giakas had a big game at the plate going five-for-five.  Junior Matt McCann (West Windsor, N.J./West Windsor-Plainsboro ) collected three hits and McClure had two.

Brennan's home run was his sixth.

Senior John Chalupa (Monroe, N.Y./Monroe-Woodbury) took the loss in relief.  He falls to 0-4 on the season.

Baylor LaPointe picked up the win for LIU; he improves to 6-5.

GAME TWO
The Knights score two runs in the first inning and five in the third to grab an early 7-0 lead.  FDU expanded its advantage with a run in the fourth, seven in the fifth and two in the sixth to take a 17-0 lead after five and a half innings.

On the mound, freshman Corey Zeller (Carroll, Ohio/Bloom Carroll) pitched eight dominant innings to pick up his sixth win of the season.  Zeller allowed just two runs – one earned – on five hits.  He struck out four and walked just one.

Seniors Dylan Sprague (Brunswick, N.Y./Averill Park), sophomore Bobby Romano (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan ) and Roman each had three hits in the game as the Knights pounded out 18 hits en route to the 17-2 victory.

Roman was three-for-three at the plate and connected on his sixth home run of the season in the fourth inning.  In total he drove in six runs and reached base four times.

Freshman Craig Alleyne, Giakas and McClure all had two hits in the game.  Giakas, McClure and Brennan all scored three runs.

All nine FDU starters had at least one hit in the game.

Over both games, Giakas was seven-of-nine at the plate and Roman was three-of-five with seven runs batted in.
 
The Knights will be off next weekend, but the remainder of the NEC will be in action closing out the regular season.  FDU will be the #3 seed in the NEC Tournament, which will begin on May 26.