TEANECK, N.J. –  The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team scored three runs in the eighth inning and held on in the ninth to defeat Sacred Heart 6-5 in the series opener at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex on Friday afternoon.
 
The Knights (4-17-1, 2-2 NEC) totaled 11 hits in the win, led by freshman Brett Mercier's 3-for-3 performance. Mercier knocked in a pair of runs in the win, including the go-ahead tally with his eighth-inning RBI double. Also providing key moments for the Knights was Mercier's classmate Ryan Glowacki, who finished 2-for-2 with two runs scored and an RBI. Glowacki, who started at shortstop for the Knights, added two walks in the win as he reached base in all four plate appearances.
 
Freshman Brendan Medoro (3-3) earned the victory by providing two scoreless innings of relief before handing the ball to the Knights' closer, Joey Kosowsky, who allowed two runs in the ninth before nailing down his third save of the season.
 
Following the win head coach Justin McKay said, "That was a great team win. We came up big in some spots today against a quality team. They are well-coached and we expect them to come back tomorrow and play hard but we are excited for game two."
 
In the bottom of the first, freshman shortstop Nate Brodsky took the first pitch he saw and deposited it over the center-field fence for the game's first run.  The solo blast was Brodsky's second of the season and he finished 2-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI in the victory.
 
Junior right-hander James Donlon started for the Knights and provided the team two scoreless frames before he was replaced by Austin Crebs. The Pioneers (6-17, 2-2 NEC) broke into the scoring column against Crebs in the third by manufacturing a run on one hit.
 
An RBI double by Isiah Daubon in the fifth and a run-scoring single by Justin Jordan in the sixth gave the Pioneers a 3-1 edge.
 
The Knights would storm back to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth. Junior outfielder Mike Veit led off the frame with a single and then swiped second base. Two batters later, Glowacki hit his first double of the day into the right-center field gap, which made it a one-run game. Mercier followed and plated Glowacki with a single to knot things at three.
 
Glowacki would lead off the game-changing eighth inning with a double off of the right-field fence. Mercier stepped in and appeared poised to sacrifice bunt Glowacki over to third but was unsuccessful in laying it down. With two strikes, Glowacki swung away and delivered the key blow with a double over the center fielder's head.
 
Now leading 4-3, the Knights tacked on two more runs thanks to a bunt single by Brodsky and a two-run knock by Tom Ruscitti.
 
Holding a three-run lead in the ninth, the Knights turned to their closer Kosowsky, who allowed a single and a two-run blast before settling in and retiring the next three Pioneers to seal the win.
 
These two teams continue the series tomorrow with first pitch set for 12 p.m. in Teaneck.