TEANECK, N.J. – With teams honing in on NEC postseason spots, the Fairleigh Dickinson and LIU Brooklyn baseball teams are set to square off for a three-game series at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex Thursday-Saturday.
 
The Knights (7-25-1, 5-7 NEC) and Blackbirds (13-20, 5-7 NEC) enter the series in a three-way tie with Mount St. Mary's for fifth place in the NEC standings, trailing Wagner (6-6 NEC) and Sacred Heart (6-6 NEC) by one game for the final two spots.
 
Wagner travels to Mount St. Mary's this weekend, while Sacred Heart has a bye from NEC action.
 
Live Coverage
NEC Front Row (Thursday)
Live Stats (all three games)

Thursday, April 18 - 3:00 PM
Pitching Matchup:
Emmanuel Corporan – RHP (0-4, 7.31 ERA) vs. Alec Huertas  - RHP (1-2, 5.62 ERA)

Friday, April 19 - 12:00 PM
Pitching Matchup:
Aaron Cohn - RHP (2-1, 7.76 ERA) vs. Nick Torres – RHP (3-3, 3.50 ERA)
 
Saturday, April 20 - 1:00 PM
Pitching Matchup:
TBA vs. Jackson Svete – RHP (1-2, 2.76 ERA)

The Series
All-Time Series: LIU leads 87-72-2
FDU last five: 0-5
Last meeting: LIU Brooklyn 10, FDU 2 (5/18/18 at LIU)
Brad Levinson led the Knights with three hits, and Corbin Dunnuck contributed two knocks. 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. FDU starter Corey Zeller struck out four batters over 4.2 innings and took the loss, while 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.
 
Scouting LIU Brooklyn
The Blackbirds have won three of their last four, including two of three last weekend at Wagner. Last time out, the team topped Manhattan 6-4. Seven batters in the starting lineup for LIU contributed a hit against the Jaspers. Seniors Alex Briggs and Andrew Smith along with junior Tim Bechtold recorded a run batted in. Senior Brock Hallum and Briggs registered two runs scored apiece for the Blackbirds.
 
This season, the Blackbirds have been led by their pitching staff, which features the second-best ERA in the league at 4.38. In addition LIU pitching has held opponents to a .269 batting average which is the second-lowest rate in the league. Offensively, the team ranks last in the NEC with a .239 batting average and has scored a league-low 141 runs. Greg Vaughn is the team's batting average leader at .287, while Hallum leads the team with a .433 on-base percentage to go along with a .275 average.
 
The Burgundy and Blue Report
The Knights followed their three-game sweep of Mount St. Mary's last weekend by dropping a mid-week non-conference tilt at St. John's 11-4 on Tuesday afternoon. Despite the loss, the Knights are playing their best baseball of the season and will look to continue their fight for an NEC postseason berth this weekend.
 
Freshman shortstop Nate Brodsky was named NEC Co-Rookie of the Week on Tuesday after batting .500 last week and helping the Knights to the sweep of the Mountaineers. Brodsky the Knights with 38 hits and 22 runs scored and ranks second on the team with a .317 batting average and 22 RBI. Another freshman who has excelled this season for the Knights is first baseman Salvatore Monticciolo. In the loss to the Red Storm, the Holmdel, New Jersey native launched his ninth home run of the season, which is tops in the NEC. Monticciolo also has a team-high 31 RBI on the campaign. In addition, redshirt freshman Adam Frank continues his outstanding first full season with the Knights as he boasts a .340 batting average. Frank is also hitting .404 in NEC games.
 
In conference play, the Burgundy and Blue feature five players batting over the .300 mark including freshman Tom Ruscitti, who is hitting .375 to go along with five home runs and 16 RBI – both team highs.
 
After senior catcher Evan McDonald registered career RBI number 100 last weekend against Mount, classmate Bobby Romano is on the precipice of reaching the milestone this weekend. Romano, who missed all of last season due to injury after leading the NEC in home runs in 2017, is rounding into form this year and sits just three RBI shy of 100 for his career.
 
On the mound, freshman Brendan Medoro (4-3) picked up his fourth win last week and now has four of the team's seven victories to his credit. Medoro pitched six innings on Friday against Mount held them to four runs. In addition to Medoro, sophomore Aaron Cohn (2-1) picked up the win over Mount on Saturday. Cohn pitched well against the Mountaineers on Saturday and battled his way through five innings before surrendering a sixth-inning grand slam. The sophomore will look to continue his ascension when he takes the ball in game two of this weekend's series.
 
Next Up
The Knights take a break from NEC action next week with three non-conference opponents on the schedule. First up is a home game against Fordham on Tuesday, April 23 at 3:00 p.m.