UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The FDU Knights (0-11, 0-0) hit the road Tuesday afternoon to take on the Penn State Nittany Lions (9-1, 0-0) in the first of two midweek matchups. Despite a hard-fought effort, the Knights came up just short, falling 7-6.
FDU's, Joe Barbarino got the nod for his first collegiate start against a formidable Penn State lineup, including reigning Big Ten Player of the Week, Paxton Kling. Barbarino held his own, keeping Kling quiet at the plate and delivering three solid innings, allowing just three hits and three earned runs while striking out two.
After both teams went down in order in the first inning, FDU struck first in the second.
Jeremy Cheeseman roped a double and was immediately driven in by a
Jimmy Mantuano single to center field, giving the Knights an early 1-0 lead.
Penn State responded in the bottom half, tying the game at 1-1 on a sacrifice fly to right field.
FDU regained the lead in the third when
Travis Stroh led off with a single up the middle and quickly swiped second base. Moments later,
Johnathan Gomez put the ball in play, forcing a throw to first that allowed Stroh to race home, putting the Knights up 2-1.
The Nittany Lions answered right back, taking advantage of a leadoff walk and timely hitting to plate three runs in the bottom of the third, reclaiming the lead at 4-2.
In the fourth, freshman
Felix Gonzalez stepped up in a key moment with two runners in scoring position, delivering a clutch single through the right side to bring both runners home and tie the game at 4-4. However, a passed ball in the bottom of the inning allowed Penn State to reclaim the lead, 5-4.
The Nittany Lions added to their cushion in the sixth, scoring twice to extend their advantage to 7-4.
FDU refused to go down without a fight. In the top of the eighth, head coach
Manny Roman successfully challenged a hit-by-pitch call, putting
Diego Urreta aboard. The Knights quickly loaded the bases, setting the stage for Cheeseman. After an eight-pitch battle, he delivered a sharp single through the right side, scoring two and pulling FDU within one at 7-6.
Despite the late rally, the Knights couldn't complete the comeback, dropping a tightly contested matchup.
"The guys played hard from beginning to end," said head coach
Manny Roman. "It's not the result that we wanted and there is still some things to clean up but when you play a team of that caliber as tough as we did today it says a lot about our players. Better days are right around the corner, we just have to stick to our process."
What's Next
FDU returns home to host Iona on Wednesday, March 5, for its second midweek matchup. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.
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