Box Score

QUEENS, N.Y. – The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team dropped the series opener at St. John's on Saturday afternoon 9-0 at a rain-soaked Jack Kaiser Stadium.
 
In the loss, senior right-hander Logan Frati became the Knights' all-time leader in innings pitched at 277.1. The senior right-hander's final line was four innings, five runs (two earned) on six hits and four walks. With the final out of the fourth inning, Frati eclipsed Mike Ritchie's all-time record of 277 innings, which was accomplished back in 1988.
 
Frati (1-4) escaped some early trouble with just one run in the first inning, which came on an RBI single by St. John's shortstop Jesse Berardi.
 
Jason Fatzinger was the first Knight to reach base against St. John's starter Sean Mooney when he drew a leadoff walk to start the third inning but nothing came of it as the next three Knights were retired in order.
 
The Red Storm extended their lead with three runs on two hits in the third. A leadoff walk and stolen base by leadoff man Jamie Galazin set the stage for the home team. The key hit in the frame was a two-run, opposite-field poke to left by catcher Troy Dixon, which made it a 4-0 game after three frames.
 
Sophomore catcher Evan McDonald notched the Knights' first hit of the afternoon with a sharp two-out single to center field in the top of the fourth. Unfortunately, bad luck followed when the next batter, Owen VonEsslinger, slapped a shot which was destined to be a clean base hit, off of McDonald's foot as he ran toward second base, resulting in the final out of the inning.
 
The Red Storm enhanced their lead to 5-0 with a sacrifice fly by Galazin in the fourth, which also marked the conclusion of Frati's afternoon.
 
The five runs were more than enough for Mooney (4-0), who kept the Knights off-balance for the remainder of the afternoon en route to the victory. The Red Storm right-hander limited the FDU bats to just two hits across his eight scoreless frames and struck out five, while watching his season ERA drop to 1.04 on the season.
 
A pair of pinch-hit knocks by James Donlon and Dan Bello in the ninth provided the Knights' their best scoring opportunity of the game but St. John's reliever Joe Kelly escaped the jam and preserved the shutout.
 
The Knights close out the two-game series with the Red Storm tomorrow at 1:00 p.m.