NORTH EASTON, MA - The FDU Knights traveled to Massachusetts to take on new conference foe Stonehill. This was the first ever matchup between the two programs due to the Skyhawks joining the NEC and division I ranks this past summer. A huge first inning propelled the Knights to a 5-0 victory to extend their winning streak to six games and giving them an overall record of 18-9-1. 
 

how it happened

FDU started the game with a patient approach at the plate by drawing three walks and two hit by pitches within the first eight batters of the game. Their approached allowed them to muster four runs in the first inning on only one hit, a double by Luke Cantwell, and have all nine batters step to the plate. Stonehill was forced to pull their starter, Zach Gleason, after only 0.2 innings pitched after he allowed four runs, on one hit, three walks, two hit batters, and balked twice. The Stonehill bullpen fared better against the red hot Knights bats as Pierce Friedman entered the game and pitched the remaining 8.1 innings; he only allowed one run on three hits while striking out five batters. The one run he allowed came in the fifth inning when Hunter D'Amato hit a sacrifice fly to center field to drive in George Rosales and extend the FDU lead to 5-0.

Jude Baxt was given the nod by head coach Manny Roman to halt the Skyhawks bats, and he did just that. Over 6.2 innings pitched Baxt was able to scatter nine hits while allowing zero runs and striking out three Stonehill batters. The fantastic start moved Baxt to 4-0 on the season and dropped his season ERA to 4.15, he also has only allowed nine earned runs in his last 23.2 innings pitched. Ian Barrett entered in the seventh inning to record the final seven outs of the game. He only needed 27 pitched to close out the game and give the Knights a 5-0 win. 

D'Amato went 0-1 on the day but he picked up two RBI's on a hit by pitch and a sacrifice fly; he also was able to extend his on-base streak to a team leading 25 games. Brian Sanders was able to lead the Knights by picking up two of their four hits on the day and extending his hitting streak to seven games. The FDU offense has been on fire as of late and have scored five or more funs in 10 straight games including dropping 20+ in back to back games this past weekend. 

The Knights and Skyhawks will battle it out again on Friday afternoon when they play game two of their three game set. The contest will be at Lou Gorman Field at 3 p.m. The Burgundy and Blue will be looking to win their third straight series and extend their winning streak to seven games. Fans can watch all the action on NEC Front Row or follow live scoring updates on Twitter @FDUKnightsBASE.