TEANECK, N.J. - The FDU Knights opened up their three-game series against the Central Connecticut Blue Devils with a 9-3 victory the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex.
Patrick Gardner started the day on the bump for the Knights only allowing three runs and four hits in the outing. Gardner capped off the day with seven strikeouts for FDU.
The Knights got on the board first with three runs in the first inning as a result of five walks issued to FDU and contact off the bat of
Nick Quagliato and a single from
Justin Sierra. This put the Knights up 3-0 early.
The Blue Devils answered back with two runs of their own in the top of the second with one runner on and a homerun off the bat of Elliott Good. Central Connecticut still trailed by one run with a score of 3-2.
Central Connecticut tied it up in the top of the sixth with contact off the bat of Colby Brouillette to drive in one run knotting the game at 3-3.
With a single from
Jeremy Cheeseman in the bottom frame of the sixth,
Hunter D'Amato lasered a ball to left center field to bring Cheeseman home giving the Knights a 4-3 lead.
FDU leaned on
Brian Sanders and
Luke Russo to ignite the offense with two singles in the bottom of the seventh. Sanders scored off a single from Cheeseman and with the bases loaded, the Knights plated one as a result of
Justin Sierra getting hit by a pitch. The Knights closed out the seventh inning with two added runs extending their lead to 6-3.
The Knights kept the Blue Devils' bats quiet and added more runs to secure a victory. In the eighth inning, FDU plated three more runs, one being a result of another bases loaded situation and Cheeseman getting hit. The other two runs came from the bat of
Hunter D'Amato who singled through the right side to score Sanders and Russo to solidify a 9-3 victory for the Knights.
We saw
Vladimir Ceverino make a relief appearance pitching the final three innings. He faced 12 batters and put five away through strikeout.
The Knights managed to pick up nine hits and 12 walks in today's game. D'Amato led the pack with a three-hit game with a double and two singles and Cheeseman and Sierra picked up multi-hit games with two hits each as well. Russo and Sanders both recorded one hit each.
UP NEXT
The Knights will return to action against Central Connecticut to continue their three-game series on Saturday, April 20. The game will be played at Naimoli Family Baseball Complex. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will be streamed on NEC Front Row.
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