WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team dropped its first two road games of the season, falling 12-3 and 16-8 at William & Mary on Saturday afternoon.
The Knights (1-2) totaled 21 hits in the two games and have now logged double-digit knocks in all three games this season.
After pitching game one of the day, senior right-hander
James Donlon launched his first home run of the season in game two against the Pride (2-4).
The two teams conclude the three-game series on Sunday with first pitch scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
Game 1: William & Mary 12, FDU 3
In Saturday's opener, the Knights surrendered four first-inning runs and trailed 12-0 before scoring three in the top of the eighth.
Sophomore infielder
Michael Gruber came off of the bench and went 2-for-2 with a run scored, while freshman shortstop
Jake Ellowitz finished 1-for-4 with two RBI.
Matt McDermott paced the Pride with a 3-for-4 afternoon, which included a home run an RBI double and solo homer. Right-hander Chris Farrell (1-0) earned the win by tossing five shutout innings and striking out seven Knights.
Donlon (0-1) lasted one inning in his 2020 debut allowing four earned on five hits before giving way to second-year right-hander
Phillip Romeo. Romeo pitched three innings and allowed four runs,
William Marte allowed three over two frames before
Tristan Plescia and
Chris Quijano each provided a scoreless inning.
All three FDU runs came in the eighth inning after Gruber and
Evan Barrera led off with back-to-back singles. Two batters later,
Tony Socci chased home Gruber with a single and Ellowitz followed with a two-run knock up the middle.
Game 2: William & Mary 16, FDU 8
The two teams combined for 23 hits and 24 runs in game two of the day. Sophomore catcher
George Rosales spearheaded the Knights' attack with a three-hit day, which included a pair of RBI and a run scored.
Nate Brodsky and
Brad Levinson also enjoyed two-hit performances and scored twice. Sophomore right-hander
Brendan Medoro (0-1) took the ball in game two and pitched 1.1 innings allowing two earned on one hit and two walks.
Freshman right-hander
Jesse Bloom was the Knights' most effective pitcher of the day, as he provided the Burgundy and Blue with three shutout innings, while limiting the Pride to one hit and striking out two.
The Knights struck first when Rosales knocked in Brodsky with an opposite-field single. Brodsky had reached via a one-out single. After Medoro kept the Pride off the board in the bottom of the first, the home team scored two in the second. They would notch an unearned run off of newcomer
Charlie Perkins in the third to stretch the lead to 3-1.
A two-out, RBI single in the fourth by senior
Mike Veit pulled the Knights to within one but the Pride would tack on two more in the home half of the frame.
The Pride broke the game open in the sixth by totaling 10 runs on three hits and taking advantage of seven free passes before Bloom came on and ended the long inning.
In the seventh, Rosales came through with an RBI single before
Rossario Maertz plated a pair with a single up the middle. The Knights final runs crossed in the eighth when sophomore
Tom Ruscitti hit a two-run double to center field.
