Box Score / Box Score (PDF)

Teaneck, NJ - Fairleigh Dickinson posted a 5-3 victory over Wagner today's second game at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex. The Knights, who won game one by a 4-0 score, improve to 13-14-1 and 9-6 in the Northeast Conference (NEC) while the Seahawks fall to 12-20 and 8-7 in the league. 

After failing to score in game one, Wagner got on the board quickly with a first-inning run. Sophomore Ian Miller (Downingtown, PA / Bishop Shanahan) led off with a double before moving to third on a Bill Murphy (GS, Cranford, NJ / Roselle Catholic / Rutgers) sacrifice bunt. Senior Eddie Brown (Edison, NJ / St. Joseph's (Metuchen) / Seton Hall) then quickly brought around Murphy with a RBI ground out.

Fairleigh Dickinson answered with a run in the bottom part of the frame on Ryan Kresky's solo home run.

Undaunted, the Seahawks immediately reclaimed the lead with a run in the top of the second inning. Freshman Nick Dini (Monroe Township, NJ / Monroe Township) led off with a single, before advancing to second on Jayson Keel's (Starkville, MS / Starkville / Holmes CC) sacrifice bunt. After moving to third on a wild pitch, junior Chris Smith's (Tampa, FL / Freedom / Ellsworth (IA) CC) plated Dini with a single to right field.

In the bottom part of the frame, the Knights snared a 5-2 lead with four runs on five hits.

The Green & White answered with a run in the top of the third inning to cut the deficit to 5-3. Senior Hayden Hunter (Santa Monica, CA / Notre Dame) plated Murphy with a two-out double to right center, before being left stranded in scoring position.

After reliever RHP Dakota Dvorak (Pompano Beach, FL / North Broward Prep) retired the side without incident in the bottom part of the frame, Wagner appeared poised to tie the game in the top of the fourth inning.  Keel and Smith led off with singles, before moving up to second-and-third on a wild pitch. However, the pair would be left stranded in scoring position.

Wagner would continue to threaten but was unable to reclaim the lead in falling 5-3.

Dvorak was outstanding in relief, striking out three while allowing just two baserunners (1 hits / 1 walk) over 4.0 scoreless frames.  Freshman RHP Max Schmardel (Eatontown, NJ / Monmouth Regional) fell to 0-4 with the loss, yielding five runs on six hits over 2.0 innings.

The Seahawks outhit FDU by a 9-7 count and were led be Miller, who went 2-for-3 with a walk in recording his team-leading ninth multi-hit game of the year. Dini extended his hitting streak to 12 games, going 2-for-4 while Smith also recorded multiple-hits, finishing up 2-for-3.

Butler (2-3) earned the win for Fairleigh Dickinson, striking out four while allowing three runs on eight hits over 6.0 innings of work, before Eric Snyder worked a scoreless seventh for his sixth save.

Kresky led the way on offense for the Knights, going 2-for-3 with a home run, double and three RBI.

The teams will conclude their four-game series tomorrow at 1:00 pm.