SALISBURY, Md. – The FDU Knights (11-33, 11-12 NEC) opened their series against Maryland Eastern Shore (5-37, 4-22 NEC) with a doubleheader split on Friday. FDU claimed game one with a 10-3 victory, while the Hawks bounced back to take game two, 10-8.
GAME 1
Jeremy Cheeseman got the start and delivered five solid innings, striking out five while allowing three runs on five hits.
Nick Noble came out of the bullpen and was dominant in relief, tossing four scoreless innings with four strikeouts and surrendering just one hit.
The Knights struck early, putting up three runs in the second inning.
Anthony Chiappetta roped an RBI double, and
JR Bozek followed with a two-run single to give FDU a 3-0 lead.
UMES trimmed the deficit to 3-2 in the fourth with a two-run homer. But FDU responded in the fifth, capitalizing on a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded to score one, followed by a Chiappetta sacrifice fly to make it 5-2.
The Hawks added a run in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI double, but the Knights' offense kept rolling. FDU tacked on five more runs in the sixth and seventh innings.
Diego Urreta plated
Travis Stroh with a hard-hit grounder, and
Johnathan Gomez scored on a wild pitch. In the seventh, Chiappetta crossed home on a defensive error before Stroh delivered a clutch two-run single to cap the scoring.
GAME 2
The Knights turned to left-hander
Jordan Savinon in game two, and he delivered 5.1 innings with five strikeouts, allowing just four earned runs on five hits.
Ian Barrett and
Joseph Barbarino also saw action out of the bullpen.
FDU took a 1-0 lead in the second on a sacrifice fly from Bozek, then extended the lead in the third on a solo home run by
Jimmy Mantuano. Mantuano wasn't done—he launched his second homer of the day in the sixth to finish with two long balls and two RBIs.
UMES rallied in the third inning, scoring four runs on a two-run homer and a defensive miscue that allowed two more to cross the plate. The Knights answered in the fifth with three runs—Cheeseman singled in one, Dudeck hit a sacrifice fly, and Chiappetta scored on an error to regain the lead, 5-4.
Mantuano's second homer made it 6-4 in the sixth, but the Hawks responded with a surge. They tallied six runs across the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings, fueled by timely hits and a bases-loaded walk.
FDU mounted a late comeback attempt in the ninth, highlighted by a Dudeck RBI double to center to bring the Knights within two. However, the rally fell short as Maryland Eastern Shore held on for the 10-8 win.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Knights and Hawks will meet again on Saturday, May 3, in the series finale. First pitch is set for 1 p.m., with the series on the line.
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