TEANECK, N.J. - Fairleigh Dickinson fell in both halves of a doubleheader against Merrimack on Saturday afternoon. FDU (6-18, 5-13 NEC) fell in game one 7-6 and 7-2 to Merrimack (14-16, 10-8 NEC) in game two.
Game 1: Merrimack 7, FDU 6
The Knights trailed 3-0 after four and a half innings before rallying to take a 5-3 lead after a four-run sixth. The Warriors then scored twice in the seventh and the eighth to earn the win.
How it Happened:
4th Inning:
- Kurtis Stadnicki reached on a fielder's choice to score Michael Golankiewicz before Bryant Scurbe scored on an FDU fielding error to open the scoring for the Warriors.
5th Inning:
- Braydon Dolbashian scored on a sacrifice fly from Joey Porricelli to make it 3-0 Merrimack.
5th Inning:
- The Knights got one back when Mike Veit brought home TJ Werner with an RBI single to right-center.
6th Inning:
- With the bases loaded, Brad Levinson hit a sacrifice fly to center to bring in Justin Sierra.
- Two batters later, Blaise Rantanen hit a three-run home run to right field to give the Knights a 5-3 advantage.
7th Inning:
- An RBI single from Michael Jamele and a sacrifice fly from Michael Golankiewicz drove in the pair of runs for Merrimack to tie the game at five.
8th Inning:
- Ben Nelson brought home the decisive runs with a two-run double down the left-field line.
8th Inning:
- Michael Gruber scored on a RBI single from Rantanen. Rantanen tried to come around and score after an error by Jamele let the ball go all the way to the wall. Jamele then hit the cutoff man, who then fired home to cut down Rantanen to keep it 7-6 Merrimack.
Game 2: Merrimack 7, FDU 2
Merrimack scored twice in the second and three times in the ninth to take game two. Wyatt Villella and Jake Thibault limited the Knights' offense to five hits.
How it Happened:
1st Inning:
- Bryant Skurbe got the scoring going with an RBI single. Nick Shumski scored on a fielder's choice to make it 2-0.
2nd Inning:
6th Inning:
- Shumski brought in two runs with a two-run double to the left-center field gap to make it 4-1 Warriors.
8th Inning:
- Hunter D'Amato made it a 4-2 ballgame with an RBI single to right. D'Amato had three of the five FDU hits in game two.
9th Inning:
- Macchi added an insurance run with a single to right. The final two runs for Merrimack scored when Nelson singled to center, followed by an FDU fielding error.
Inside the Box Score:
- D'Amato went a combined 5-for-9 over the two games with an RBI and a run scored.
- Villella (1-2) got the win for Merrimack in game two after going 7.2 innings, allowing two earned runs while striking out five.
- Rantanen went 3-for-3 with four RBI and two runs scored in game one. The homer was the first of the outfielder's career.
- Austin Crebs started for the Knights in game one and went five innings, allowed one earned run, and struck out two.
Up Next:
The Knights return to the diamond on Wednesday when they travel to Lehigh. The first pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. in Bethlehem, Pa. Next weekend, FDU is back in NEC action at Sacred Heart for a three-game weekend series.
