TEANECK, N.J. - The Knights and Warriors were back in action on Sunday afternoon for a Mother's Day edition of NEC baseball. Merrimack entered the game needing a win to help push them into the final seed for the NEC tournament later this month and FDU was desperate for a win to stay in play for the #2 seed in the tournament which receives an automatic bye into day two. Today's matchup ended up as a pitching duel were only three pitchers were needed for the two teams combined and there were only three runs and eight hits among the two squads. The Warriors were fortunate to pull out a 2-1 victory over the Knights and salvage game three of the weekend series.
Ethan Rembish got the ball for the Knights this afternoon and did not disappoint. He was terrific for 6.2 innings as he mowed down the Warriors lineup. Over nearly seven innings he managed to hold Merrimack;s typically potent offense to just two hits and two runs while striking out 14 Warrior batters. The 14 strikeouts is the most by an NEC pitcher in a single-game this season.
The two runs surrendered by Rembish came in the third inning when the Merrimack leadoff hitter, Golankiewicz, deposited his third home run of the series over the center field wall to give the Warriors a 2-0 lead. The two-run blast was enough on the day as the Knights could only muster one run off of the Warriors starter in the contest. The run came in the ninth inning with FDU having their backs against the wall and needing to spark a rally;
Brian Sanders drilled an RBI double to left centerfield to drive in
Justin Sierra. Sierra stood as the tying run but was stranded when
Hunter D'Amato bounced out to third base and
Zack Will ended the game with a groundout to the shortstop.
The one run for the FDU offense was the lowest run total in a game all season in conference play; the previous low was two runs in a 4-2 loss agaisnt CCSU on April 28.
Manny Roman will be expecting a better offensive showing from his team on Tuesday afternoon when they take on Siena for a non-conference battle at 1 p.m. The game will on the road at Connors Park in Loudonville, N.Y.
