SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team battled first-place Bryant in a see-saw matchup before ultimately falling 12-11 in extra innings at Conaty Park on Friday afternoon.
 
The Knights (4-21-1, 2-5 NEC) led 8-4 and trailed 11-8 in the contest before the Bulldogs (18-10, 5-2 NEC) eventually walked off in the bottom of the tenth inning on a Nick Angelini opposite-field single.
 
Freshmen Nate Brodsky and Adam Frank paced the attack for the Burgundy and Blue by each finishing 3-for-6 in the contest. Brodsky scored three times and knocked in a pair, Frank knocked in two runs and scored once, while junior center fielder Mike Veit went 2-for-6 with two RBI and a run scored in the loss.
 
Jimmy Titus paced the Bulldogs in the win with four RBI in a 2-for-3 effort, which included a solo home run.
 
Freshman Emmanuel Corporan started for the Knights and held the Bulldog lineup to five hits across his five innings of work. Three of the four runs Corporan permitted were unearned.
 
Facing Bryant's ace, Steve Theetge, who entered the day with a miniscule 0.82 ERA, the Knights offense netted eight runs (five earned) on nine hits.
 
"Today's game was a quality effort against a high-caliber opponent," said FDU head coach Justin McKay following the loss. "Our lineup fought hard against good pitching and our defense was solid but you cannot walk eight hitters and expect to win games. Emmanuel gave us the start we needed and really bore down after an error and allowing three runs in the first. Nate, Mike, Adam and Brett all had good days at the plate and we had our opportunities today. I look forward to seeing how this team responds tomorrow."
 
Chris Wright netted the game's first run with a one-out single as the Bulldogs struck for three in the first inning.
 
Trailing 3-0 in the third, the Knights broke into the scoring column with two runs on three hits. Brodsky knocked home the first run with a double down the left-field line before a throwing error resulted in the Knights' second tally.
 
After Titus hit a solo homer in the bottom of the frame, the Knights offense went back to work in the top of the fourth. Five hits amounted to six runs as the Burgundy and Blue captured an 8-4 advantage. Senior Evan McDonald opened the inning with a double. The next batter, Bobby Romano – who returned to action after missing the team's last six games – knocked home McDonald with a single to left-center field.
 
Brodsky and Frank would each deliver run-scoring knocks before a pair of Bryant miscues resulted in two more tallies for the Knights.  
 
The 8-4 lead would hold until the sixth inning when the Bulldogs netted three runs off of FDU reliever Griffin Gilbert. The home team would score four more in the seventh, highlighted by a two-run home run by Gaby Cruz, which put Bryant on top 11-8.
 
The Knights remained undeterred as they struck back for three runs and tied the game in the top of the eighth. Brodsky followed a leadoff walk by Brett Mercier with a single before Veit knocked the duo in with a knock up the middle.
 
With two outs, freshman Ryan Glowacki drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game at 11-11.
 
Neither team threatened in the ninth but the Bulldogs would net the game-winning run in the bottom of the tenth. A leadoff walk and an error set the stage for Angelini's walk-off single.
 
These two teams meet again for game two of the three-game series tomorrow at 1:00 p.m.