ERIE, Pa. - FDU Baseball (26-15, 19-5 NEC) used a clutch 11th inning home run from outfielder
Luke Russo to edge the Mercyhurst Lakers (13-24, 12-12 NEC) on Sunday afternoon at Mercyhurst Baseball Field. This victory clinched the series sweep for FDU, their fourth NEC sweep this season.
The game started with the FDU offense coming to play, as just four pitches in,
Johnathan Gomez hit his eighth home run to lead off the game, and give the Knights a 1-0 lead. Just one inning later,
Travis Stroh hit a solo home run which extended the lead to 2-0 FDU on Stroh's 12th homer of the season.
Hunter Ray would add a sacrifice fly in the third inning, scoring
Nick Quagliato, and moving the FDU advantage to 3-0.
FDU's starting pitcher
Cooper Montelbano was excellent through the three innings he was in the game, as Montelbano worked through the Mercyhurst order without surrendering a base hit, and leaving the ballgame in the hands of
Mason Hebert and the FDU offense.
Hebert stumbled in the fourth inning, as the Lakers broke the no-hitter and the shutout all in the fourth frame, but the FDU bats picked up their pitcher, adding a run in the fifth and two more in the sixth, as
Garryn Plummer hit an RBI double, and then
Jeremy Delamota hit his seventh home run of the season, pushing the Knights lead back out to 8-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning.
Mercyhurst would storm back and score the next six runs of the game, evening the score at 8 in the seventh inning. The two teams would stay deadlocked at 8 a piece until the ninth inning, where the Knights got a go-ahead home run from
Hunter Ray, giving the Knights the lead heading into the bottom of the ninth. The Lakers would even the score in the bottom of the ninth, forcing extra innings against FDU.
Both teams were turned away in the 10th inning, but in the first plate appearance of the 11th inning, on a 3-2 count,
Luke Russo launched his first collegiate home run over the left field wall, coming up with his first career round-tripper in the biggest spot possible for FDU.
FDU reliever
George Creighton would shut the door on the Lakers, pitching both extra innings, and not allowing a run. This victory for the Knights marks their 26th this season, and the 99th of
Manny Roman's tenure at FDU. The Knights are also 3-0 in extra inning ballgames, with Sunday marking the longest game in innings that FDU has played this season.
The Knights will head to Little Falls, N.J. for a midweek matchup with the NJIT Highlanders at Yogi Berra Stadium. First pitch is set for 5 p.m.
