TEANECK, N.J. -- Heading into the final weekend of NEC play, the Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team will travel and face the Blackbirds of LIU Brooklyn, for a three-game series, starting on Thursday.
Series Schedule:
Live Coverage: NEC Front Row | Stats
Thursday, May 17 - 2:00 p.m.
Friday, May 18 (DH) - 12 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT
The Knights saw 2018 Senior Day cut short due to mother nature, as Sunday's finale got postponed. Before the game, senior's Jason Fatzinger and Joe Flack were honored for their contributions made in the Burgundy and Blue throughout their respective careers. On Friday, the Knights dropped a doubleheader to Central Connecticut State, dropping the first game 5-2, and then coming up short 5-1, in the second game.
QUALITY QUIJANO
After a rough start to the season, freshman pitcher Chris Quijano has made his presence on the mound lately for the Knights. In his last four appearances, Quijano has a 2.80 ERA, tossing 16.1 innings, mowing down 16 batters, and only allowing five runs.
MCDONALD THE MENACE
Junior catcher Evan McDonald has been a menace to all pitchers. McDonald leads the Knights in hits (44), home runs (8), RBIs (29), batting average (.301), along with ranking top-10 in the Northeast Conference in slugging percentage (.604), OBP (.404), total bases (84).
STOLEN BASES
The Knights currently rank fourth in the NEC with 47 stolen bases. Helping with that stat, Brandon Seltzer and Mike Veit have combined to swipe 25 bases. Oliver Tavares has stolen four bases, with Fatzinger and Connor Stanton stealing three.
PREVIOUS MEETING
The two teams met at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex in late March as LIU Brooklyn swept the Knights in a three-game slate.
SCOUTING LIU BROOKLYN
The Blackbirds come into play with a 25-24 (13-12) record. As a team, LIU is fifth in the conference with a .263 batting average, and third with a 4.94 ERA. Andrew Turner is the catalyst for the Blackbirds, as the senior paces the team a .321 average and 14 doubles. Turner also has tallied 43 hits and has scored 19 runs. The main strength for LIU is its bullpen, Rob Griswold, Mike Kreiger, and Jackson Svete have combined to throw 105.3 innings, only issuing 23 earned runs for an ERA of 1.97
CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT IMPLICATIONS
This weekend, FDU looks to play the spoiler rule and eliminate LIU from postseason play. The Blackbirds currently sit in fourth place in the conference and only have a one game lead over fifth place Sacred Heart.
