Box Score

SMITHFIELD, R.I – The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team dropped its series opener at Bryant, 15-5 on Friday afternoon at Conaty Park.
 
The Knights (10-21, 7-5 NEC) held a 5-0 lead after two innings but watched as the first-place Bulldogs (18-21, 11-4 NEC) scored 15 unanswered runs to nab the victory.
 
Senior shortstop Matt McCann paced the Knights with his 12^th multi-hit effort of the season, finishing 3-for-4 with one run and one RBI in the loss.
 
Freshman left fielder Owen Vonesslinger knocked in two of the Knights' five runs with his second home run of the season, which was part of a 2-for-4 afternoon.
 
McCann started the ballgame with a single up the middle and then stole second before taking third and home on wild pitches. The senior shortstop's stolen base was one of two in the game for him as he moved into second place all-time in Knights' history. McCann is now just two thefts away from becoming the program's all-time leader.
 
After McCann scored, the Knights were far from done as Vonesslinger launched a two-run blast over the left field fence, which knocked in Ryan Brennan and extended the lead to 3-0.
 
FDU starter Evan Layne walked three Bulldogs in the home half of the first but escaped the jam unscathed with an inning-ending flyout.
 
Then in the second, the Knights offense went back to work as James Donlon and Jason Fatzinger lined back-to-back singles.
 
McCann knocked in Donlon with a single and then Bobby Romano scored Fatzinger with a sacrifice fly to push the Knights' lead to 5-0.
 
From that point on, Bryant starter James Karinchak settled in and limited the Knights to just one hit over his final four frames.
 
The Bulldogs scored at least one run in every inning from the third on including a dive-inning eighth, which put the game out of reach.
 
The home team took advantage of four Knights' errors to help capture the lead and received key hits along the way, including Cole Fabio's two-run triple in the fourth, which made it a 5-4 game.
 
The Bulldogs went in front 7-5 in the fifth as two runs came around to score on an FDU error.
 
First baseman Chris Wright led the Bryant offense with a perfect 4-for-4 game, while Jimmy Titus went 2-for-4 with three RBI, including a two-run homer in the eighth.
 
Layne (2-2) left after four innings, allowing five earned runs and seven hits to go along with three walks and three strikeouts.
 
Karinchak (5-1) struck out nine Knights across his six innings of work, while scattering six hits and allowing four earned runs.
 
These two teams square off again tomorrow with a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m. The first game will be a nine-inning contest, while game two will be a seven-inning affair.