TEANECK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team dropped the rubber game of its three-game series with LIU Brooklyn, 13-8 at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex on Saturday afternoon.
In a game which featured four lead changes, the Knights (8-27-1, 6-9 NEC) matched the Blackbirds' (15-21 7-8 NEC) 12 hits but were hampered by the 14 walks they issued to the LIU offense.
Adam Frank,
Evan McDonald,
Salvatore Monticciolo and
Mike Veit all registered two hits in the loss, while Frank knocked in four RBI and launched his second home run of the season and Monticciolo plated two runs in the loss.
LIU was led by first baseman Colin Adams who finished 3-for-5 with five RBI and a run scored.
After the Blackbirds netted a run in the first against FDU starter
Austin Crebs, the Knights tied the game in the bottom when Monticciolo delivered a two-out single up the middle.
The Blackbirds would score in each of the first three innings as they netted two runs in both the second and third frames to net a 5-1 lead.
In the bottom of the third, Frank led off with a double and after a pair of strikeouts, Veit poked an opposite-field base hit through the left side for the Knights' second run of the day.
The Burgundy and Blue would tie the game in emphatic fashion in the bottom of the fourth. Trailing by three runs with two on and two out, Frank stepped up to the dish and hammered a three-run home run over the left-center field fence to tie the game at 5-5. Frank's homer was his second in as many days and the second of his career.
Still tied at five in the sixth inning, McDonald opened the inning with an opposite-field double. Two batters later, Monticciolo blooped a single to left, which plated McDonald and gave the Knights a 6-5 edge.
Unfortunately for the Knights, their lead would not last. In the top of the seventh, the Blackbirds broke out for four runs on four hits against FDU reliever
Chris Quijano. The damage came via an RBI double by Edward Modica, a run-scoring triple from Luiny Monegro and a two-run blast by Adams.
The Knights would chip away in the bottom of the inning as the first three men reached.
George Rosales reached on an infield hit and the next two Knights were aided by a hit-by-pitch and an error, which loaded the bases with nobody out.
Tom Ruscitti chased home the first run after he was hit by a pitch but LIU reliever Rob Griswold would minimize the damage. A pair of hard-hit balls resulted in two outs and one more run crossing as the Blackbirds held on to a 9-8 lead through seven.
Three walks and a hit batsman issued by FDU reliever
Joey Kosowsky allowed one run to cross in the eighth but the freshman right-hander escaped the jam by picking off the first-base runner with a nifty move to keep the deficit at 10-8.
Griswold kept the Knights at bay in the eighth and then in the top of the ninth, the Blackbirds tacked on three runs with two hits, which resulted in the 13-8 final.
The Knights take a break from NEC action this week as they play three non-conference opponents. First up is a home date with Fordham this Tuesday, April 23 at 3:00 p.m.
