TEANECK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team is set for their first home stand of the season when they welcome Lafayette on Tuesday and NJIT on Wednesday to the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex.
 
The opening road non-conference slate has been unkind to the Knights (0-9) who return home seeking their first win of the 2017 season. The team is coming off a three-game sweep at Saint Louis (10-1). The Knights had leads in two of the three games against the Billikens but were unable to come away with a win over the weekend.
 
First up for the Knights this week is a familiar opponent in the Leopards of Lafayette College (2-10). The Knights topped Lafayette 7-6 last season in Easton, Pa. as they were aided by a ninth-inning home run by Bobby Romano, which put them up for good.
 
The Leopards have won two of their first 12 games but one of those victories came in an impressive 10-2 victory over Notre Dame in the season opener. The team enters Tuesday fresh off of a trip to the nation's capital where they dropped a pair of games to Harvard and earned a split with Coppin State.
 
On Wednesday, the Knights will square off with in-state foe NJIT (2-7), who enters the week in the midst of a three-game skid. The Highlanders suffered a three-game sweep at North Carolina Central this past weekend.
 
Through the first nine games this season, the Knights have been led offensively by seniors Ryan Brennan and Matt McCann. Brennan is batting .333 with two home runs and seven RBI, which are all team-highs, while McCann is second on the team with a .314 batting average and is tops amongst the Knights with six runs scored and five stolen bases.
 
With his five steals, McCann now sits alone in fourth place on the Knights' all-time stolen bases leaderboard with 58 career thefts. The senior shortstop trails hird-place Steve Dembowski by ten.
 
On the mound, the Knights have received solid contributions out of the bullpen in the early going, including freshman right-hander Jake Sciarotta, who has allowed one run and two hits over his five innings this season and is striking out one batter per frame.
 
Key Links:
Knights Baseball Roundup (coming Tuesday)
Lafayette Baseball page
NJIT Baseball page

Game Information:
Tuesday, March 7 – 3:00 p.m. – Fairleigh Dickinson (0-9) vs. Lafayette (2-10)
Probable Starters: Danny Demetrops - LHP (FDU) and Kenny Campbell - RHP (Lafayette)
Coverage: Live Stats
 
Wednesday, March 8 – 3:00 p.m. – Fairleigh Dickinson (0-9) vs. NJIT (2-7)
Probable Starters: Evan Layne - RHP (FDU) and Johnny Malatesta - RHP (NJIT)
Coverage: Watch: NEC Front Row
Live Stats

Up Next: The Knights are on the road at Hofstra on March 15 before they return home to start NEC action against Bryant on Friday, March 17.