Knights silence Bulldog bats in DH sweep

FDU SWEEPS BRYANT, 3-1 AND 5-3

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Joe Borelli and Mike Eliasen combined to limit the Bryant University baseball team to just four runs as Fairleigh Dickinson earned 3-1 and 5-3 victories to sweep the Bulldogs in a Northeast Conference doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Conaty Park.

The Bulldogs (27-17, 18-5 NEC) saw their seven-game winning streak snapped in the first game and then had saw their lead in the NEC standings evaporate in game two against the Knights (21-20-1, 15-8 NEC). It is the first two wins for FDU over the Bulldogs in the history of the series. Also, the two losses combined with Monmouth's sweep of LIU Brooklyn forges a tie atop the NEC standings between the Bulldogs and the Hawks.

Game One

Freshman right-hander Joe Borelli kept the Bulldogs off balance for six innings and made a three-run fourth inning stand up in game one.

FDU scored all the runs they would need with a two-out rally in the fourth inning. After the first two Knights were retired, Riley Moonan worked a walk to start the rally. Mike Hewson followed with a infield single up the middle and Pat McClure provided the big blow with a two-run double to left-center. Shane Siebler made it 3-0 with a single to right-center that scored McClure.

Borelli did the rest to earn his third win of the year. He didn't allow a hit until a Kevin Brown (Northborough, Mass.) bunt single in the third and was able to work out of the eventual jam by inducing a pair of fly balls. The only other trouble he faced came in the fifth when the Bulldogs scored their only run.

Junior Dan Muscatello (Hopkinton, Mass.) and Brown ripped consecutive singles to put runners on the corners and freshman John Mullen's (Walpole, Mass.) ground ball to short scored Muscatello to make it 3-1. Senior Jamie Skagerlind (Holden, Mass.) moved Mullen to third with a single through the right side but Borelli worked out of the jam with a fly out to center.

Borelli worked into the seventh inning but was pulled after Muscatello singled to lead off. Eric Snyder was summoned from the bullpen and preserved the victory by inducing a 4-6-3 double play to end the game. Borelli induced 15 fly outs on the afternoon and limited the Black and Gold to just six hits.

Sophomore Craig Schlitter (Guilford, Conn.) threw a complete game but suffered his fifth loss of the season. Outside of the fourth inning, however, Schlitter was dominant. He allowed just six hits and struck out four. Following the three-run fourth, he retired the next nine batters in a row before issuing a two-out walk in the seventh.

Muscatello and Brown each had two hits for the Bulldogs in the first game.

Game Two

Mike Eliasen held the Bulldogs to just one hit over the first five innings and the Knights staved off a seventh-inning rally to complete the sweep.

Trailing 5-0 in the seventh, Bryant scored three runs and had the winning run at the plate with one out but Snyder got a pop out to the catcher and a fly ball to center to end the game. Senior Mike DelPonte (Tewksbury, Mass.) started the rally with a double to right-center and sophomore Jonathan Scott (Princeton, N.J.) was hit by a pitch to put two runners on. Freshman Daniel St. George (Shelton, Conn.) followed with a pinch-hit double to left-center to make it 5-1, and sophomore Joseph Carcone (New Hartford, N.Y.) made it 5-2 with a ground ball to second. Freshman Matt Zanotta (Schenectady, N.Y.) ripped a pinch-hit single to make it 5-3 and Muscatello walked to put the tying run on first. Snyder ended the bleeding by getting Brown to pop out to the catcher and Mullen to fly to center.

The Knights built their game two lead with two runs in the third and three runs in the fifth. Ryan MacDonald doubled to start the inning and then scored on a throwing error and Siebler scored the second run of the inning on a two-out single from Jordan Ritz. FDU plated three in the fifth on a hit by pitch, wild pitch and a sac fly.

From the outset, however, it was Eliasen that was dominant. Other than a two-out walk in the second, Eliasen didn't allow a baserunner over the first three innings before allowing a leadoff double to Brown in the fourth. He battled back to strand Brown at second and then didn't allow another hit until a two-out single from Mullen in the sixth. He finished with one strikeout and allowed just five hits.

Bryant starter Joseph Michaud (Milford, Conn.) allowed five runs (three earned) on five hits in 4 1/3 and was saddled with his third loss of the season. Freshman Trevor Lacosse (Watervliet, N.Y.) entered the game in the fifth inning and threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings to finish the game. He allowed just one hit and struck out two.

Prior to the first game, Bryant University officially dedicated Conaty Park with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The Bulldogs and the Knights complete their four-game series on Sunday with a 1:00 p.m. first pitch.