HACKENSACK, NJ - The Fairleigh Dickinson softball team opened up their home schedule Tuesday afternoon at the FDU Softball Fields with a pair of wins over Saint Peter's by scores of 7-1 and 4-2. The wins move the Knights overall record to 7-16 on the season.
FDU returns to action Friday when they open up their NEC schedule with a double-header against Bryant in Hackensack beginning at 1 p.m.
Game One: Fairleigh Dickinson 7, Saint Peter's 1
The Knights offense exploded at the plate in game one, going off for 13 hits en route to a 7-1 victory over the Peacocks.
FDU set the tone early in the first inning, smacking back-to-back-to-back singles including one from
Serena Meehan that drove in
Logan Kolehmainen from second to put FDU on the scoreboard early. A fourth single from
Holly Mercier loaded the bases for FDU with two outs, however Riley Schmeh struck out to end the inning and keep the score 1-0.
Kolehmaninen came through in the clutch again in the second, driving in FDU's second run of the game with a single to left field.
Pitcher
Baylee Ports managed to keep a lid on the SPU offense, allowing the Knights just four hits through the first six innings of shutout baseball to help preserve the Knights lead. FDU pushed the deficit to 5-0 in the bottom of the fourth after a sacrifice fly from
Madison Emerson brought Meehan to the plate once again.
The junior belted a single to left field to push two more FDU runners across home. FDU would add one more in the fifth and sixth inning to take a commanding 7-0 lead.
The Peacocks finally managed to crack Ports' shutout in the top of the 7th when Theamaris Ramirez belted a solo shot over the left field fence, but it would not be enough to spark the comeback they needed, as FDU closed things out to hold on for the 7-1 win.
Ports struck out 10 in the win, pushing her overall record to 4-4 on the season. Kolehmainen went 3-4 at the plate with an RBI.
Game Two: Fairleigh Dickinson 4, Saint Peter's 2
While they could not quite match the offensive outpouring of game one, the Knights still managed to effectively hit the ball and generate offense against pitcher Sydney Ramsey of Saint Peters in game two, smacking nine hits on the day.
The Knights opened up another early first inning lead in game two, going up 2-0 courtesy of an
Abby England single to center field that scored Emerson and Kolehmainen.
England's arm proved to be just as effective of a weapon against the Peacocks as her bat, however. The freshman hurler posted a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the second including a pair of strike outs to end the inning. The Knights pushed their lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the second off of another RBI single from Emerson.
Another 1-2-3 inning for England in the third allowed the Knights to push their lead to 4-0.
The Peacocks recouped a pair of runs in the top of the fourth after another homer from Ramirez, this one a two-run blast over thr left-center wall to cut FDU's lead in half.
Luckily for FDU, England was able to shut it down for the rest of the game, retiring her final nine batters to earn the Knights another win a two-game sweep of the Peacocks. The win moves England to 4-4 on the season.
