Teaneck, NJ – The Wagner College baseball team defeated Fairleigh Dickinson 17-3 on Friday afternoon at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex. 

It was the Northeast Conference (NEC) opener for both teams as Wagner moves to 3-3 overall and 1-0 in league play while the Knights drop to 1-5 and 0-1 in the conference.

Five Seahawks had multi-hit and multi-RBI performances in the series opener. Tyler Sanfilippo led the way for Wagner with four hits. AJ Medrano and Griffin Schneider each had three hits. Jared Gillen and Mike Ruggiero had two hits apiece in today's victory. 

Medrano drove in a career-high four RBI in powering the Seahawks' offense this afternoon. Sanfilippo finished with three RBI while Schneider, Jared Gillen, and Mike Ruggiero each had two RBI. Freddy Sabido and David Melfi each added an RBI in the win. 

Veteran Seahawk right-hander Ryan Lauk was dominant on the mound today, tossing seven innings, allowing just two hits and two unearned runs. The Mullica Hill, NJ native struck out eight batters in picking up his first win of the season. 

Hunter D'Amato led the Knights' offense with two hits while David Bordieri Jr. and Mike Veit each drove in an RBI. Marc Bisogno took the loss, allowing six runs (four earned) on four hits while walking three. 
 
Inside The Boxscore…

 
Wagner got on the board in the second inning. Schneider led off with a double to left field and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Ruggiero. With two outs, Medrano sent the first pitch he saw through the right side, which brought in Schneider, giving the visitors an early lead. 

The Knights answered back with two runs in the bottom of the second in taking the lead, 2-1. Wagner committed three errors in the frame, with Tom Ruscitti scoring the tying run on a throwing error by Sanfilippo.  The next batter, Veit, sent a sacrifice fly to left, which allowed TJ Werner to tag up and give the Knights the lead.

Sanfilippo made up for the errant throw in the top of the third, as he ripped a double down the left-field that scored Gillen to tie the score at 2-2. Lauk retired the Knights in order in the third, which set the stage for the visitors in the top of the fourth.

Wagner sent 12 batters to the plate in the fourth, scoring six times in retaking the lead, 8-2. Sanfilippo broke the 2-2 tie with an infield single up the third baseline. Two straight walks plated two more runs before Ruggiero reached on a fielder's choice that made it 6-2. Medrano connected on a single to center field for his third RBI of the game as the Seahawks increased the lead to 8-2. 

In the fifth, Sabido tripled to left field and came home as Schneider reached on a throwing error by the FDU third baseman, which made it 9-2. Lauk continued to stifle the FDU batters, recording his third straight 1-2-3 inning. 

The Seahawks offense continued their torrid stretch of hitting, putting up four more runs in the sixth in upping the advantage to 13-2. Henry Martinez led off with a single through the right side and promptly stole second. 

Ethan Valdez walked and both Valdez and Martinez executed a double steal, moving to second and third, respectively. On a 2-0 pitch, Gillen singled up the middle that scored both runners. Schneider added an RBI single to left before David Melfi reached on a fielder's choice to third that scored Sanfilippo.

In the eighth, Wagner posted four more. Quinn Mimnaugh walked and DiMaggio Cazares doubled down the left-field line. Ruggiero sent a single up the middle that scored Mimnaugh, making it 14-2. Medrano recorded his fourth RBI of the day, as he sent a grounder to short that brought in Cazares. Caleb Ward, who pinch-hit for Martinez, reached on a fielding error by the shortstop as Ruggiero trotted in to make it 16-2. 

Wagner's final score of the game came on Sanfilippo's fourth hit of the day, an RBI single to left that scored Ward and gave the visitors a 17-2 lead.

FDU scored in the bottom of the stanza as Bordieri Jr. doubled to left field, scoring Justin Sierra. 

Wagner and Fairleigh Dickinson continue their weekend series on Saturday afternoon from the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex at 1:00 p.m. Pat Gallagher is slated to take the ball for Wagner while Joey Kosowksy will start for Fairleigh Dickinson.