TEANECK, N.J. - The FDU Knights played host in a non-conference mid-week battle where they hosted the Iona Gaels. Iona entered the contest 2-14 on the season with the Knights hoisting a olid 9-8-1 record through 18 games. The Knights bats took a while to get going but once they did FDU did not look back. The Burgundy and Blue picked up a 5-4 win to add one more win in the win column before they travel to Baltimore, MD to take on Coppin State. Ironically, this was the first FDU sporting event since head basketball coach Tobin Anderson left the program for the Gaels after the Knights wrapped up their Cinderella like March Madness run where they defeated the #1 ranked Purdue Boilermakers last week.
 

how it happened

The Knights gave the ball to freshman two-way player Nicholas Mazzotta who took the place of typical mid-week starter Jude Baxt. Baxt seems to be moving to the weekend rotation to help give the Knights rotation some length due to injuries. Neither team hit particullary well in the first five frames with the score being tied 1-1 after four innings. The Gaels picked up a run when Will Jennings hommered off of Mazzotta and than in the bottom of the inning the Knights struck back with a sacrifice fly from Franklin Gomez Jr. 

Mazzotta relinquished one earned run in two innings before Thomas Spiwak and Jason Diaz both provided FDU with a scoreless inning each. Diaz previously had not recorded an out in two outings so far this season and it was a tremendous sign to see him strikeout the side in the 3rd inning. The middle innings was when the bats came alive for both sides with six of the nine combinded runs came in the 5th and 6th innings of play. Shane Sax came on to pitch the top of the 5th for the Knights and was not treated nicely by the Iona lineup; James Kemp and Jim Pasquale hit back-to-back home runs to give the Gaels a 3-1 lead. The 3-1 deficit was cut in half in the bottom of the inning when Justin Sierra picked up the Knights first hit of the afternoon with a single to left field; he proceeded to steal second and third base with the catcher over throwing the third baseman on the attempt allowing Sierra to score. 

The winning pitcher, Evan Stewart, came into the game in the 6th inning and provided FDU with a shut down inning that allowed the offense to take the lead in the bottom of the 6th. The Knights had a huge 6th inning when they scored three runs to fulfill the comeback and take a 5-3 lead. The comeback was kick started when Hunter D'Amato led the inning of with a single to center field that extended his hitting streak to 16 games, he than proceeded to steal his fourth bag of the day to put himself scoring position. Gomez Jr. stepped to the plate and drilled a ball to right field that allowed D'Amato to score and tie the game at 3-3. Brelon Harden was next up for the Knights and his single put runners on the corner for freshman JR Bozek to execute a perfect safety squeeze to give FDU a 4-3 lead. The Knights were not done as Sierra tripled to drive in Harden with the eventual winning run that gave the Knights a big enough lead to close the game out.

Stewart stayed in the game to pitch the 7th inning and Nicholas Feretic relieved him for the 8th inning. Both pitchers saw themselves get into bases loaded jams and pull a Houdini act and allow zero runs to maintain the lead for Manny Roman's squad. The Division II transfer, Patrick Gardner was tasked with picking up his second save of the season. He struck out two batters after allowing a run to close out the game for the Knights and help them pick up their 10th win of the season. 

It is important to note that the Knights stole a season high 10 bases in today's game with D'Amato swiping four, Sierra two, and George Rosales, Luke Cantwell, Brian Sanders and Bozek getting one each. 

The Knights will go on the road for the first time since they were in Charlotte, N.C. facing off against Queens University. FDU will be traveling to Baltimore, MD to face off againt Coppin State at Joe Cannon Stadium. Friday's contest will be at 3 p.m. with both weekend games coming in at 1 p.m. Fans back home will be able to watch on NEC Front Row or follow live updates on the Knights Twitter account (@FDUKnightsBASE).