TEANECK, N.J. - FDU Baseball (21-13, 15-3 NEC) dropped a wild contest at the hands of the Fordham Rams (15-21, 6-9 A-10) in a game that featured 40 runs, 36 hits, and three errors at Naimoli Family Baseball Complex that lasted three hours and 50 minutes.
Fordham would score the first 11 runs of the contest, taking a commanding lead over the Knights as the Rams held an 11-0 lead entering the bottom half of the fourth inning. There the Knights would show some resistance, as
Johnathan Gomez hit a two run double to break the shutout, and then the very next batter
Hunter Ray put himself in the FDU history books forever, as he blasted a two run homer for his 16th of the season, the most by any Knight in school history during a single season.
The Rams would respond with five runs of their own in the fifth inning, leading the game by 12 runs, before FDU got the chance to swing the bats in the fifth.
Jeremy Cheeseman would get two runs back for FDU as he hit a two run homer, then later in the inning
Johnathan Gomez doubled home another two runs, which was then followed by another
Hunter Ray two run home run, his 17th of the season, clearing the all time record by a pair of homers in mid-April.
In the sixth inning,
Jimmy Mantuano added to the scoring with a two run home run, as FDU drew closer, making the score 16-12. The Knights were not done in the sixth frame however, as
Luke Russo singled home
Brady Fandl, and the Knights got the Ram lead down to just three at the end of the sixth inning.
The Rams would push their lead right back to five runs with a two run homer in the top of the seventh inning, but once again the Knights would find an answer. Both
Diego Urreta and
Jimmy Mantuano would hit homers, the fifth of the season for Urreta and fourth of the season, as well as second in the ballgame for Mantuano. After seven innings of play, the lit up scoreboard read 18-16 in favor of Fordham.
The Rams would break the game open in the final two innings and create more seperation, as Fordham plated three in the eighth and two in the ninth, and the Kngihts would not go down quietly, as
Hunter Ray added one more RBI to make his season total an even 50 and five for the ballgame, before the Knights ultimately fell by the final score of 23-17 in a marathon game.
FDU and Fordham will meet once again tomorrow, this time in the Bronx at Houlihan Field. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.
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