TEANECK, N.J. - FDU Baseball (5-7, 2-1 NEC) dropped a thrilling back and forth contest with the Monmouth Hawks (6-7, 3-0 CAA) at Naimoli Family Baseball Complex on Wednesday afternoon.
The seesaw battle commenced early as both teams tallied three runs in the first inning, RJ Mustaro of Monmouth hit a three run homer in the top of the first, but the Knights would punch back fast as
Diego Urreta would answer with a three run bomb of his own in the bottom half of the inning. That homer marked Urreta's first of the 2026 campaign.
After a scoreless second inning, the Hawks would use the third and fourth frames to do some damage, throwing up six runs in total between those two innings, to push their lead out to a six run margin heading into the bottom half of the fourth inning.
FDU would answer in a big way in the bottom half of the fourth, first with a
Hunter Ray single that scored both
Luke Russo and
Jeremy Delamota, followed by a
Garryn Plummer single that scored
Johnathan Gomez. Urreta would get back into the RBI column again, as he doubled home both Ray and Plummer to pull the Knights within a run.
Monmouth would tack on a run in the top of the fifth, but FDU came right back once again with a three run fifth, which was capped off by a Gomez two run homer to give the Knights their first lead of the ballgame. The Hawks would then throw another counter punch by scoring an additional four runs in the very next inning, the top half of the sixth.
The Knights would be forced to play catch up once again, and cut into the lead with a Gomez sacrfise fly that scored a run to make it 14-12 headed into the eighth inning. The Hawks would score another run in the top of the eighth, and then throw up a zero in the bottom half, facing the Knights with a three run deficit heading into the last frame.
FDU would score a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth with a
Hunter Ray two run single to make the game just a one run contest, with the winning run at the plate for FDU. The game would end on a fantastic play made by Monmouth shortstop Sam Sauke to end the ballgame with a final score of 15-14.
This loss is the first of its kind at Naimoli Family Baseball Complex for FDU as the Knights drop to 5-7 on the season, and 2-1 at home.
FDU will continue their homestand with their first home NEC series as the Knights are set to welcome in Coppin State for a three game set this weekend at Naimoli Family Baseball Complex. First pitch for the Friday affair is set for 3 p.m.
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