Box Score

NORWICH, Conn. – The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team earned a 2-0 victory over Central Connecticut behind a dominant pitching performance by freshman Corey Zeller (Carroll, Ohio/Bloom Carroll).  The Knights' (27-27) victory eliminated the Blue Devils (23-34) from the Northeast Conference Tournament.  FDU will play the loser of Friday's game between the Bryant Bulldogs and Sacred Heart Pioneers.

Zeller tossed 7.1 innings and limited the Blue Devils to five hits and two walks.  He recorded three strikeouts and improved to 7-3 on the season with the win.

With two runners on and one out in the eighth, head coach Gary Puccio went to the bullpen, calling on freshman lefty Evan Layne (Brooklyn, N.Y./Telecommunications) to face CCSU's top-hitter Dean Lockery.  Layne induced a fly ball to left field for the second out of the inning.  Puccio opted to play the matchups again, calling on redshirt junior Ryan Brennan (Mooresville, N.C./Mooresville) who came on and struck out CCSU's Andrew Hinckley to end the inning.

Brennan went back out for the ninth and allowed back-to-back hits with one out, but he was able to close out the game by getting CCSU's Matt Martinez to hit a ground ball to shortstop.  Matt McCann (West Windsor, N.J./West Windsor-Plainsboro ) fielded the ground ball and threw to second for the second out of the inning, with the second base umpire calling interference on the runner, which resulted in Martinez being called out at first for the final out of the game.

The Knights scored a single run in the top of the fourth inning as senior Dylan Sprague (Brunswick, N.Y./Averill Park) crossed the plate on a double play ball.

FDU's second run came on a RBI single by sophomore Bobby Romano (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan ) in the top of the seventh.

Sprague, Brennan and Romano all had two hits in the game.  McCann, senior John Giakas (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) and freshman Evan McDonald (Circleville, Ohio/Logan Elm) also had hits for FDU.

FDU pitchers held the Blue Devils to just seven hits and nine total baserunners over nine innings.

The Knights are now one win away from tying the school record for victories in a season.  The 1993 team set the school record with 28 wins.  The 2016 team's 27 victories are the second best total for a season in program history.

The Knights have now won at least one game in each of the seven NEC Tournaments in which they have appeared.

The winner of tomorrow's 12 p.m. elimination game will play again at 4 p.m.