TEANECK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team looks to solidify its footing in the Northeast Conference postseason race when it travels to New Britain to take on Central Connecticut State this weekend.
 
The Knights (15-30-1, 9-9 NEC) have won five of their last six games and currently occupy the third place spot in the NEC standings. They trail second-place CCSU (21-19, 11-7 NEC) by two games.
 
Friday, May 10 - 3:00 PM
Live Stats
Pitching Matchup:
Brendan Medoro - RHP (6-3, 5.14 ERA) vs. Tom Curtin – RHP (3-3, 4.93 ERA)

Saturday, May 11 – 12:00 PM (DH)
Game 1: Live Stats
Pitching Matchup:
Aaron Cohn - RHP (4-1, 5.04 ERA) vs. Brandon Fox – RHP (2-4, 4.08 ERA)

Game 2: Live Stats
Pitching Matchup:
Austin Crebs – RHP (3-2, 6.80 ERA) vs. Patrick Mitchell – RHP (5-3, 4.42 ERA)
 
The Burgundy and Blue Report
The Knights enter the conference weekend having swept their three-game series at Sacred Heart last week to move into third place in the conference standings.
 
This week, the team captured a pair of conference honors as senior Evan McDonald was named NEC Player of the Week and freshman Salvatore Monticciolo earned his second NEC Rookie of the Week award.
 
McDonald earned his nod after registering a .444 (8-for-18)  batting average with one home run, one double, two walks, five RBI and four runs scored. The senior catcher now has nine home runs on the season.
 
Monticciolo slugged .875 across his four-game week and batted .438 (7-for-16) with two homers, one double, three walks, six RBI and four runs scored. The first-year Knight currently ranks second in the NEC with 11 home runs -- trailing only freshman teammate Tom Ruscitti who has slugged 12 long balls on the season. Ruscitti, who enjoyed a rare three home run game in last Friday's 8-6 win at Sacred Heart, is batting .358 with nine home runs and 22 RBI in league play. 
 
As a team, the Knights are batting .280 overall led by redshirt freshman Adam Frank's .370 average. Frank enters the weekend ranked third in the league in hitting and boasts a lofty .431 batting average in NEC contests.
 
The key to the Knights' new-found success has been their pitching. The trio of Cohn, Crebs and Medoro have provided the team with a solid weekend rotation. Over his last three starts, Cohn is 3-0, carries a sparkling 1.29 ERA, and has held opposing batters to just 15 hits across his 21 innings.
 
Cohn's fellow sophomore right-hander, Crebs earned NEC Prime Performer recognition this week after limiting Sacred Heart to one run on three hits in last weekend's series finale.
 
Scouting the Blue Devils
CCSU is also coming off of an NEC weekend sweep as they rolled into Staten Island and took all three games against Wagner. The Knights nabbed two of the three weekly NEC awards but the Blue Devils claimed the third as senior Patrick Mitchell earned NEC Pitcher of the Week honors. Mitchell racked up 13 strikeouts and completed the sweep of the Seahawks with a nine-inning complete-game shutout. The right-hander is set to pitch game three of the series this weekend against the Burgundy and Blue.
 
Mitchell has been a key for the team this season as the Blue Devils rank third in the conference with a 4.85 team ERA. The team has relied on its pitching and defense all season long and has permitted the fewest runs in the NEC (221). The 221 runs allowed are 39 fewer than the next closest conference squad.
 
Offensively, CCSU ranks sixth in batting average (.244) and is last in the conference in hits (337), slugging percentage (.334) and on-base percentage (.349). The team's top hitter this season is junior infielder Chandler Debrosse, who is batting .283 with one home run and 18 RBI. Junior Dave Matthews has been the Blue Devils' main source of power with a team-high four home runs and 25 RBI.
 
The Blue Devils close out the regular season next weekend at LIU Brooklyn, who currently occupies the fourth and final NEC Tournament spot with an 8-10 record.
 
Next Up
The Knights host Wagner next week in their final regular-season series of 2019. The three-game series is set to begin on Thursday, May 16. In addition, prior to first pitch on Saturday, the Knights will honor seniors Dillon Forsythe, Evan McDonald and Bobby Romano with the annual senior day ceremony.