SYRACUSE, N.Y. - FDU Baseball (23-14, 16-4 NEC) used a record-breaking day from center fielder Travis Stroh to top the Le Moyne Dolphins (11-19, 11-9 NEC) in an offensive affair, ending in a 19-13 final score in favor of FDU. 

The Knights opened the scoring on Saturday afternoon at Dick Rockwell Field as FDU plated two in the opening inning on a throwing error from a Le Moyne infielder that came with the bases loaded. Johnathan Gomez and Hunter Ray both scored on the throwing error, and FDU led 2-0 after just a half of an inning. The Knights then got a four pitch shutdown inning from starting pitcher Jeremy Cheeseman, and then went right back to work in the second.

Gomez would get into the scoresheet once again, as he hit his seventh home run of the season, bringing Brady Fandl home with him to extend the FDU lead to 4-0. The Dolphins would tally the next four runs in the ballgame, one by way of a home run that went over the fence, and another that was scored as an inside the park homerun, that would end up tieing the game at four a piece through three innings. 

Garryn Plummer gave FDU the lead right back with a sacrifise fly that brought home Travis Stroh, and giving the Knights the lead back 5-4. The Knights then added three more in the fifth, with a pair of home runs, a solo shot from Jeremy Delamota, and a two run bomb from Travis Stroh, that would end up being his first of three in the ballgame. 

Le Moyne battled back to cut the FDU lead to just one in the fifth inning, as the Dolphins plated three in the fifth to knock out the Knights starting pitcher Jeremy Cheeseman. The Knights would once again create separation in the next frame, as in the top of the sixth inning, Nick Quagliato singled home Diego Urreta, and just two batters later, Travis Stroh would leave the yard for the second time in as many innings, homering in the fifth and sixth, with the one in the sixth inning being a grand slam. 

The Dolphins would scratch two more runs across against FDU reliever Nick Noble in the bottom of the sixth, both by way of the solo homer, as the game would go into the seventh inning with FDU leading 13-9.

The Knights kept their foot on the gas in the eighth inning, when Travis Stroh came near inches away from another home run, driving in two runs anyway on an RBI double, turning the lineup over to Hunter Ray who did not miss his chance to hit a homer, as he blasted his 19th home run of the season to extend the FDU lead to 17-9. 

Le Moyne would add four more runs in the eighth with a pair of home runs, but the Knights would get through the inning on defense, and gave Stroh the opportunity to swing the bat one more time in the top half of the ninth. Stroh used his opportunity to hit his third homer of the game, setting the new program record of nine runs driven in in one ballgame. 

Noble came out for one more inning and was able to shut down the Dolphins in the ninth, moving his personal record to 5-0, and FDU's record to 23-14, and 16-4 in the NEC season. The Dolphins loss on Saturday drops them to 11-19 on the season, with an 11-9 in NEC contests. 
 

WHAT'S NEXT

The two teams will meet for a rubber match at Dick Rockwell Field in Syracuse tomorrow with a new game time set for 2 p.m. due to weather in the area. The Knights posted starter is Drew Cisney, and fans will be able to watch the game on NEC Front Row.  Read Full Article