TEANECK, N.J. – The FDU Knights (8-30, 8-11 NEC) dropped the opening game of a three-game series to the Mercyhurst Lakers (10-25, 8-11 NEC) by a final score of 10-6 on Friday afternoon.
The Lakers jumped out to an early lead with a five-run second inning, capitalizing on two home runs, a triple, and a sacrifice fly to build a 5-0 advantage. The offensive surge forced FDU to pull starting pitcher
Cooper Montelbano after just two innings of work.
FDU got on the board in the bottom half of the inning when
Franklin Gomez Jr. singled through the right side to drive in
Jimmy Mantuano, cutting the deficit to 5-1.
In relief,
Ian Barrett entered in the top of the third and delivered a strong performance, recording eight of his nine outs via strikeout to set a new career high.
Mercyhurst added to its lead in the third inning with a solo home run to right field by Jayden Walker, pushing the score to 6-1.
The Knights responded in the bottom of the fourth when
Jeremy Cheeseman launched a two-run home run over the right field fence to trim the deficit to 6-3.
However, the Lakers broke the game open in the fifth inning with a grand slam, extending their lead to 10-3.
FDU continued to battle, adding two runs in the fifth when
Diego Urreta smashed a two-run home run to center field. In the sixth,
Hunter Ray drove in
Andre Bouffard with a sharply hit ball to bring the Knights within four. Despite applying pressure in the late innings and putting runners on base, FDU couldn't complete the comeback and fell by a final score of 10-6.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Knights and Lakers will continue their three-game set on Friday, April 18 at Naimoli Family Baseball Complex in Teaneck, N.J. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will be streamed on NEC Front Row.
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Pub178 is the presenting sponsor for the 2025 FDU baseball season.
