TEANECK, N.J. – The Fairleigh Dickinson baseball team received a strong performance from the one-two punch of Joey Kosowsky and Brendan Medoro to earn a doubleheader split against Central Connecticut State on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Knights (3-8, 2-4 NEC) defeated the Blue Devils 5-2 in the first game of the day as Kosowsky (2-0) and Medoro teamed up to keep the potent visiting bats at bay. The Blue Devils (7-5, 4-2 NEC) would rebound to take the second game of the double-dip 9-5.
 
Graduate first baseman and pitcher James Donlon went 5-for-6 in the twinbill and hit his team-leading third home run of the season. Donlon sits tied for the team lead in homers with Tom Ruscitti, who delivered a two-run homer in Saturday's win. Ruscitti's blast was the 22^nd of his career. 
 
Game 1: FDU 5, CCSU 2

• Kosowsky started for the Knights and cruised through the first two innings before working out of trouble in the third.
• The Knights broke into the run column by manufacturing a run in the third after sophomore Justin Sierra reached on a walk and advanced to scoring position with a stolen base.
• A pair of sacrifices including an RBI bunt by outfielder Mike Veit made it a 1-0 game.
• After Donlon led off the fourth with a double, Ruscitti stepped in and clobbered his second home run of the series and gave the Knights a 3-0 lead.
• Kosowsky continued to excel and held the Blue Devils without a hit until the fifth inning when the Blue Devils netted a pair of runs to cut the Knights' lead to one.
• Freshman infielder TJ Werner helped his pitcher by making an outstanding defensive play, diving and throwing out the batter for record the final out.
• Medoro came on in the sixth and provided the Knights with three-straight scoreless frames as the game moved to the bottom of the eighth, 3-2.
• Donlon led off the eighth with a double and two batters later scored when Brad Levinson doubled to deep left field and provided the Knights with a much needed insurance run.
• A bases-loaded walk by Sierra extended the lead to 5-2 and Medoro shut the door in the ninth to seal the win for his second save of the season.

Game 2: CCSU 9, FDU 5

• In game two, the Knights picked up where they left off as Ruscitti delivered a two-run, bases-loaded single to provide the team with an early lead.
• Donlon, who started game two, pitched around two men on to preserve the lead.
• Sierra led off the home half of the second with a single and scored on two-out RBI single by Veit to make it a 3-0 FDU lead.
• Freshman right-hander Jude Baxt came on to start the third and allowed a run on a solo blast from CCSU leadoff man Dan Covino.
• In the fourth, the Blue Devils would take a 4-3 lead on a three-run blast by Covino.
• Jake Neuman, who entered for the Blue Devils in the third, kept the Knights off-balance throughout the contest as the visitors extended their lead with three runs in the fifth and one in the seventh.
• Another RBI single by Veit in the seventh cut the deficit to 8-4 for the Burgundy and Blue before Donlon launched an opposite-field solo shot in the eighth for the Knights' final run of the contest.

Next Up
The Knights travel to Brookville, N.Y. to square off with LIU for a three-game series next weekend beginning on April 1 at 3:00 p.m.