TEANECK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team has won four of its last five games including
an upset of St. John's earlier this week and looks to continue its momentum at Sacred Heart this weekend.
The Knights (12-30-1, 6-9 NEC) trail Sacred Heart (16-25, 8-7 NEC) and three other NEC foes by two games in the win column as they continue to push for one of the four postseason spots.
On the play of his team as of late, head coach
Justin McKay said, "I truly believe our team is turning the corner. All credit goes to one of the youngest teams in Division I that is growing up each day and continues to develop and adjust to collegiate baseball. I also believe that playing four games during the week as opposed to the five and six-game weeks has made a significant difference. In addition to guys being able to get much needed rest, it has allowed us to practice and work with our guys individually more. It's no mystery that once we have had the opportunity to practice more -- the team has produced more. We've put ourselves in position to make a playoff run and I'm excited to see what we can do these last nine conference games."
Friday, May 3 at Sacred Heart
2:00 PM |
Live Stats
Pitching Matchup:
Brendan Medoro - RHP (5-3, 5.10) vs. Matt Aufiero - RHP (1-0, 4.76 ERA)
Saturday, May 4 at Sacred Heart
12:00 PM |
Live Stats
Pitching Matchup:
Aaron Cohn - RHP (3-1, 5.44) vs. Ryan LaMay - RHP (3-3, 5.11 ERA)
Sunday, May 5 at Sacred Heart
1:00 PM |
Live Stats
Pitching Matchup
TBA vs. Baylor Sundahl - RHP (1-2, 5.35 ERA)
The Burgundy and Blue Report
The Knights took three of four from Saint Peter's last weekend and then pulled off an upset of St. John's 5-4 on Wednesday. The Knights' victory over the Red Storm is the first since 1987 and snapped a 27-game winless streak in the series. This season, the team has earned three NEC Rookie of the Week Award Winners in Brodsky, Frank and Monticciolo. Frank, a redshirt freshman, has had a remarkable first full season with the Knights. The Saddle Brook, New Jersey product leads the Knights with a .362 batting average, 51 hits and 12 doubles. Frank's batting average is fourth-best in the NEC, while he ranks second in doubles. In addition, in NEC games, he is hitting .426.
Monticciolo and first-year classmate
Tom Ruscitti have supplied plenty of firepower for the Burgundy and Blue in 2019. Monticciolo, who homered twice in the win against St. John's, now has 11 long balls on the campaign which is tied for the NEC lead, while Ruscitti ranks fifth in home runs with nine. Six of Ruscitti's home runs and 18 of his 27 RBI this season have come in NEC games.
In addition to the freshmen contributions, seniors
Evan McDonald and
Bobby Romano continue to excel in the middle of the lineup. McDonald (.318) and Romano (.305) have joined Frank and freshman
Nate Brodsky with batting averages north of the .300 mark. McDonald clubbed his second, two-home run game of the season last weekend against Saint Peter's and now has eight on the season. His 26 career home runs are third-most in FDU history.
As a team, the Knights rank third in the NEC in batting average (.274), slugging (.429), on-base percentage (.371), runs (257), hits (398), RBI (230) and doubles (74).
On the mound, the team has received three straight quality performances from sophomore
Aaron Cohn. The Knights are 3-0 in those contests. In last his two performances, Cohn has held opponents to just six hits and one run, while striking out six. The Tampa, Florida native pitched a complete-game two-hit shutout against Saint Peter's last weekend.
In addition to Cohn, freshman right-hander
Brendan Medoro has limited the opposition to five earned runs across his last two starts. Medoro has pitched five or more innings in each of his last four outings.
Scouting Sacred Heart
After dropping the opening game, the Pioneers took the final two games of their series at LIU Brooklyn last weekend 17-10 and 9-3. On Wednesday, the team suffered a 12-1 setback to Army West Point in a mid-week, non-conference game. At 8-7, the Pioneers currently occupy a piece of a second-place tie with Central Connecticut in the NEC standings, while LIU and Wagner are tied for the fourth spot at 8-10. This season, Sacred Heart pitching has held opponents to a .278 batting average and 24 home runs, which both rank second in the conference. Offensively, the team ranks fifth in nearly all major categories but is last in the NEC with a .354 on-base percentage. Jake Frasca and Isiah Daubon are the top two hitters for the Pioneers with a .355 and .317 batting average, respectively. Frasca has racked up 12 doubles, which is tied for second most in the conference, while his batting average is fifth best. On the mound, Ryan LaMay has been the most effective starter for SHU with a 3-3 record and 5.11 ERA across his nine starts. LaMay has held opposing hitters to a .250 average this season, which is second-best in the conference.
Next Up
Following their three-game series with Sacred Heart the Knights will host Manhattan for a mid-week, non-conference game on Tuesday, May 7 before visiting Central Connecticut State May 10-12.
