TEANECK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team is set to play five games this week in California against two first-time opponents from the Western Athletic Conferene (WAC) in CSU Bakersfield and California Baptist.  
 
The Knights (2-2-1) will play four single games against the Roadrunners (5-9) before a single game on March 13 against California Baptist (9-3).
 
Friday, March 8 at CSU Bakersfield
9:00 PM (EST) Live Stats | Radio
Pitching Matchup:
Bobby Pigozzi – RHP (FDU) vs. Darius Vines - RHP (CSUB)
 
Saturday, March 9 at CSU Bakersfield
9:00 PM (EST) Live Stats | Radio
Pitching Matchup:
Chris Quijano – RHP (FDU) vs. Ethan Skuija - RHP (CSUB)
 
Sunday, March 10 at CSU Bakersfield
3:00 PM (EST) Live Stats | Radio
Pitching Matchup:
Brendan Medoro - RHP (FDU) vs. Edgar Barclay - LHP (CSUB)
 
Monday, March 11 at CSU Bakersfield
3:00 PM (EST) Live Stats | Radio
TBA (FDU) vs. TBA (CSUB)
 
Wednesday, March 13 at California Baptist
5:00 PM (EST) Live Video | Live Stats
TBA (FDU) vs. TBA (CBU)
 
Scouting CSU Bakersfield
The Roadrunners are off to a 5-9 start to the season and have won three of their last four including wins over Santa Clara and a loss at UNLV. Junior right-hander Ethan Skuija, who the Knights will face on Saturday, earned Western Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week last week after he tossed a complete game in the team's 3-1 win over Santa Clara. The Canadian right-hander allowed just one earned run and four hits, while striking out 11. Offensively, senior catcher Jake Ortega has spearheaded the attack for Bakersfield and is batting .364 with a .462 on-base percentage through his 11 games. He is the lone Roadrunner batting over .300 on the campaign but classmate Ryan Koch has supplied the firepower with a team-high seven RBI to go along with a .267 average. Following their series with the Knights, the 'Runners travel to Hawaii for a four-game series with the Rainbow Warriors.
 
Scouting California Baptist
The Lancers won their first nine games of the season but have since dropped a three-game series to UC Riverside. Prior to their game against FDU they will face Pacific for four games at home. In their latest game against their crosstown rivals, redshirt junior Ryan Mota launched three home runs as the team hit four in total. Mota has six long balls on the season and is tied for the team-lead with Luke Navigato at 12 RBI. Navigato is hitting a robust .431 at the dish this season, while Mota is batting .370 as two of the four Lancers over .300 on the campaign. On the mound, redshirt senior Angel Delgado garnered WAC Pitcher of the Week honors on February 25 after tossing 12 scoreless frames.  The Lancers visit UC Santa Barbara for three games after squaring off with the Knights.
 
The Burgundy and Blue Report
The 2019 campaign is off to a strong start for the Knights who began the slate 2-0-1 before dropping a pair of games to Dartmouth. Last weekend in North Carolina, the Knights picked up a 10-5 win over Patriot League preseason favorite Army before suffering the setbacks to Dartmouth. Sophomore outfielder Brad Levinson has been in the starting lineup since the Dayton game and has been on a tear since that point. The Staten Island native is batting .417 on the campaign (5-for-12) and boasts a .462 on-base percentage. The Knights currently feature five players batting over .300 including Adam Frank (.350), Salvatore Monticciolo and Mike Veit, who are hitting .333 apiece. Monticciolo launched his first career home run in the win over Army – a three-run blast -- which proved to be the key blow in the game.
 
On the mound for the Knights, the team continues to turn to sophomore Chris Quijano, who has pitched to a 2.79 ERA through his team-leading 9.2 innings of work. Quijano has yet to earn a decision this season but has racked up nine strikeouts. Serving as the team's nominal closer, freshman Joey Kosowsky has begun his career with four scoreless frames and earned his first save by tossing 2.1 scoreless frames in the victory over Army.
 
Up Next
The Burgundy and Blue will play a home-and-home series with Pennsylvania next weekend. First up is a double-dip at Penn on Saturday, March 16 before the team's return to Teaneck for two games on Sunday.