The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team concluded the 2018 season with two losses at LIU Brooklyn, falling 10-5 and 10-2 in a Friday afternoon doubleheader at LIU Field.
The Knights finish the season with a 10-36 overall record and a 1-26 NEC record. The Blackbirds (28-24, 16-12 NEC) with the wins clinched a spot in the upcoming NEC Tournament and will be the third seed.
Game One: LIU Brooklyn 10, Fairleigh Dickinson 5
The Knights jumped out to an early lead to start the day, with back-to-back singles from sophomore
Brandon Seltzer and freshman
Connor Stanton leading to a RBI single to left field by freshman
Oliver Tavares in the first inning.
Knights freshman starter
Chris Quijano recorded his first strikeout in retiring the Blackbirds in order in the next frame. His battery mate, junior catcher
Evan McDonald, threw a runner out at second one inning later in helping the Knights keep their 1-0 lead through two innings.
McDonald started another Fairleigh Dickinson rally in the third, reaching on an error with two outs. Senior
Jason Fatzinger then smacked a double against the right-center wall to plate McDonald and extend the Knights lead.
Blackbirds catcher Edward Modica led off the bottom of the third with a double and later scored to get one run back, but Quijano limited the damage to escape the jam with a 2-1 lead.
LIU Brooklyn, however, tacked on eight runs in the fourth inning to take the lead. Rightfielder Dom Paiotti hit a home run to make it 4-2, and third baseman Alex Briggs smacked a grand slam with two outs before shortstop Luis Arias hit a double to bring home the final run of the frame.
The Knights trimmed the deficit in the sixth when sophomore
James Donlon singled in two runs to make it 10-4. Seltzer plated another run for the Knights after doubling to lead off the seventh, later stealing third and scoring on a double steal attempt.
The Blackbirds held off the Knights the rest of the way to secure a berth into the NEC Tournament. Cory Hart picked up the victory for LIU Brooklyn, going six innings with nine strikeouts. Quijano fanned three batters in earning the loss for the Knights.
Seltzer, Tavares and Donlon each had two hits to pace the Knights offensively, and Modica finished 4-for-4 with two runs scored to lead the Blackbirds.
Game Two: LIU Brooklyn 10, Fairleigh Dickinson 2
LIU Brooklyn tallied the first runs of the late game when Paiotti doubled in the first inning to make it 1-0, and Andrew Smith and Joe Curcio added two-run homers in each of the next two frames.
The Knights mustered only one and two walks off Blackbirds starter Baylor LaPointe through the first four innings. Third baseman
Corbin Dunnuck then doubled to start the fifth, and
Brad Levinson singled for the second time in the game to put runners on the corners. Pinch-hitter
Joe O'Rourke then grounded into a double play that allowed Dunnuck to score, making it 5-1.
The Blackbirds stringed together three singles and a double steal to increase their lead to 7-1 after five innings and added another run in the sixth.
The Knights loaded the bases in the eighth, and
Connor Stanton singled home one run, plating senior
Joe Flack. LIU Brooklyn escaped the inning giving up only the one run, however, and tacked on two more runs to make the final score.
Junior
Corey Zeller struck out four batters over 4.2 innings in taking the loss for the Knights. Senior
Joe Flack pitched 3.1 innings, giving up four hits, three runs and two walks while striking out one in his final game.
Baylor LaPointe earned the win for the Blackbirds, fanning seven Knights in 5.1 innings, and Jackson Svete earned the save by going the final 3.2 innings on the mound.
Levinson led the Knights with three hits, and Dunnuck contributed a single along with his double. Paiotti powered the Blackbirds by going 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored, and Smith and Curcio drove in and scored two runs apiece.
