TEANECK, N.J. - Senior outfielder
Brian Sanders crushed three home runs over the course of the doubleheader on Saturday to power the Knights (21-27, 15-13) to two wins against Coppin State (11-17, 12-28). Sanders and sophomore first baseman
Jeremy Cheeseman went back-to-back twice in game two to erase an early lead by the Eagles on the way to a 15-7 victory.
GAME 1
The doubleheader was opened by junior lefthander,
Patrick Gardner, who pitched seven successful innings. Gardner only allowed two hits and tallied five strikeouts on the day. With this win, Gardner's record moves to 6-2 this season.
The Knights got on the board first with an RBI double off the bat of
Hunter D'Amato in the first inning. This RBI was recorded as D'Amato's 161st career RBI, he now sits atop the FDU record book for most career RBI's. D'Amato scored thanks to
Justin Sierra drawing a throw to second base giving the Knights a 2-0 lead.
FDU tacked on a run in the third inning from a Sierra triple. The Knights scored again in the fourth and fifth innings with two more runs to give them a 5-0 lead.
In the sixth inning,
Brian Sanders ignited his offensive outbreak on the day with a two-run homerun to extend the Knights lead to 7-0.
The Knights found a way to produce two more runs in the seventh innings resulting off a stolen base and a fielder's choice. FDU secured a 9-0 shutout win for game one of the day.
We saw
Nicholas Feretic make a relief appearance pitching the final two innings.
The Knights managed to pick up seven hits and five walks in today's game. Two Knights picked up a multi-hit game with
Justin Sierra leading the charge with three hits and being just a homerun shy of hitting for the cycle.
Brian Sanders recorded two hits as well.
Hunter D'Amato and
TJ Werner both recorded one hit each.
GAME 2
Junior right-hander
Chris Mattioli started the game on the mound for the Knights pitching the first three innings putting two batters away via strikeout.
Despite Coppin State getting on the board first, they were not able to keep their lead over the Knights.
FDU kicked off their scoring in the bottom of the first inning with two runs thanks to two back-to-back solo shots off the bats of
Brian Sanders and
Jeremy Cheeseman. The Knights still trailed 4-2.
TJ Werner tacked on an RBI in the second inning with a double to left field to score
Joan Sosa. The Knights still trailed 4-3.
Coppin State scored two more in the fourth inning with a two run shot from Kai Holm bringing the score to 6-3.
The Knights made noise in the fourth inning where they answered with a six-run addition.
Brelon Harden doubled to centerfield to ignite the offense.
Brian Sanders and
Jeremy Cheeseman once again went back-to-back with homeruns in this inning as well. Two batters later,
Justin Sierra joined in on the long ball fun with a two-run blast of his own to score D'Amato. With this, the Knights claimed a 9-6 lead.
Joey DiMotta added a run to the scoreboard with a sacrifice fly to bring in Cheeseman in the sixth inning making the score 10-6.
Coppin State plated one more run in the seventh inning, but that wasn't enough to secure a lead over the Knights overwhelming offensive showing.
TJ Werner doubled to score
Joan Sosa in the seventh inning to extend the Knights lead by one more.
In the eighth inning, with a single from
Joey DiMotta and a double from
Joan Sosa, the Knights added four more runs to the board and secured a 15-7 win over Coppin State for game 2 of the day.
We saw
Ben Pika,
Ian Barrett and
Joey Kosowsky make relief appearances pitching the final six innings. The staff combined for four strikeouts.
The Knights managed to pick up 16 hits and four walks in the second game. Five Knights picked up a multi-hit game with
Justin Sierra leading the charge with four hits with one being a homerun.
Brian Sanders,
Jeremy Cheeseman,
Joey DiMotta and
TJ Werner all tabbed multi-hit games in game two.
Hunter D'Amato,
Joan Sosa and
Brelon Harden all tacked on onehit each.
UP NEXT
The Knights will return to action to close their three-game series against Coppin State on Sunday, May 12. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. and streaming will be available on NEC Front Row.
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