BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team completed its three-game sweep of Sacred Heart by claiming both games of Saturday's doubleheader. The Knights captured game one 7-3 before rolling to a 13-3 victory in game two and have now won five games in a row.
With Saturday's sweep, the Knights improve to 9-9 in conference play and leapfrog the Pioneers (16-26, 8-10 NEC) to ascend to third place in the NEC standings.
Senior catcher
Evan McDonald went 5-for-10 in the double-dip with four RBI and four runs scored. On the mound, the Knights received a pair of quality seven-inning performances from sophomore right-handers
Aaron Cohn and
Austin Crebs. In the opener, Cohn (4-1) went seven innings allowed two earned runs and struck out three, while Crebs (3-2) provided the Knights another seven strong in game two and held the Pioneers to just one run on three hits.
Across the three-game weekend the Burgundy and Blue totaled 42 hits including 31 on Saturday.
Game One: FDU 7, Sacred Heart 3
In Saturday's opener, the Burgundy and Blue jumped out to a 1-0 lead thanks to an RBI single in the second inning by
Mike Veit.
With Cohn keeping the Sacred Heart bats in check, the game moved to the sixth inning tied at 1-1 and that is when the FDU offense provided support for its starting pitcher. McDonald started the rally with a one-out single and
Salvatore Monticciolo followed with a double.
Bobby Romano and
Tony Socci each followed with run-scoring singles and after Veit came home on a fielder's choice, the Knights held a 4-1 lead. McDonald would re-establish the three-run edge with his ninth home run of the season – a solo blast, which came in the seventh inning.
The Knights would tack on two more in the eighth and extend the lead to 7-2 as
Adam Frank and Monticciolo each knocked in a run with a single.
Freshman
Emmanuel Corporan pitched the eighth and ninth innings for the Knights and closed out the win for Cohn.
Monticciolo and Rush led a 16-hit attack with three hits apiece in the victory, while McDonald, Romano and Socci each tallied two.
Game Two: FDU 13, Sacred Heart 3
With their sights set on the sweep, the Knights came out swinging in game two as they registered three runs in the top of the first. Frank and Monticciolo each drove in one with a single and Frank would later cross the plate on a wild pitch.
Highlighted by a two-run single from Socci, the Burgundy and Blue would score three in the fifth and two in the sixth. Then in the top of the seventh, the Knights broke the game wide open by plating five runs including a two-run knock from McDonald.
The offensive output was more than enough for Crebs, who kept the Pioneers offense off-balance all afternoon as he limited the home team to just three hits across his seven innings of work. Sophomore
Chris Quijano came on and pitched a scoreless eighth before the Pioneers scratched out two runs against
Joey Kosowsky in the ninth.
Frank, McDonald and
Nate Brodsky paced the offense with three hits apiece. Brodsky and Frank each scored four times, while McDonald knocked in three runs.
The Knights will look to continue their winning ways when they host Manhattan on Tuesday, May 7 at 1:00 p.m. Following the tilt with the Jaspers, the Knights return to conference play next weekend with a three-game series at the NEC's second-place team Central Connecticut State.
Coach McKay's Postgame Comments
"We played a complete weekend of baseball from the first pitch of game one to the final pitch of three our focus was strong. I am so proud of these guys for their preparation, effort and execution in this series. Sacred Heart is a well-coached and tough team but we really came to play in these games."
"This young team responded to my challenge to find ways to win games on the road. Aaron and Austin delivered two excellent starts and we needed that from them in order to win. As good as our lineup was this weekend -- our pitchers were the story. The guys will get a rare in-season Sunday off which I hope they enjoy."
