The Fairleigh Dickinson University baseball team picked up its first victory of the season as they defeated St. Louis University this afternoon, 12-10, in the opening game of the Buckeyes Classic, hosted by Ohio State University, in Port Charlotte, FL. Trailing 10-8 in the top of the eighth, junior Brian Dillon (Sarasota, FL/Cardinal Mooney) slugged a grand slam to give the Knights a 12-10 lead. The Knights were able to hold the Billikens scoreless over the final two innings to earn the victory. The Knights improve to 1-3 on the season, while the Billikens fall to 4-5 overall.
The Knights scored three times in the first and one more in the second to take a 4-0 lead. However, the Billikens answered with eight unanswered runs to take an 8-4 lead.
Still down 8-4 in the top of the seventh, the Knights inched closer with two more runs, but the Billikens answered with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning to go back up four, 10-6.
However, the Knights' fortune changed in the eighth inning. After the Billikens were able to get the first two Knights' batters of the inning out, Billikens' pitching walked the next three batters to load the bases.
On a 3-2 count, sophomore Matt Holsman (Coral Springs, FL/Stoneman Douglas) came through with a two-run single to cut the deficit to 10-8.
The Knights were not done as Steven LaForge (Garfield, NJ/St. Mary) kept the inning going with another walk. Dillion then came to the plate with the opportunity to help the Knights' chances.
Ahead in the count 2-0, Dillon stroked the grand slam to give the Knights the lead. It was his first home run of the young season. The Knights scored six runs in the eighth inning, all with two outs.
Freshman Craig Warner (Coral Springs, Fla./Stoneman Douglas), who came in relief in the seventh inning, pitched an important scoreless eighth to keep the Knights ahead. Warner did not give up a run and struck out two in 2.0 innings of relief. He was credited with the victory on the mound.
Junior Spencer Kelly (Rockville, MD/The Bullis School) slammed the door in the ninth on the Billikens as retired all three batter in order to earn the save.
Holsman went 4-for-5 with three singles and a double in the lead-off spot. He drove in two runs and scored four times. Batting in the two-hole, LaForge collected two hits, scored once, and drove in a run. Dillion, who hit third, went 2-for-3 with the grand slam and six runs batted in. Freshman Ben Mersky (Hershey, PA/Hershey) also collected two hits and scored two runs as he batted in the nine-hole.
Knights' starter Mike Strachman pitched 5.0 innings. The senior gave up eight earned runs on nine hits. He walked one and struck out three. Fellow senior Corey Jeffers (Woodbine, NJ/St. Augustine Prep) relieved Strachman and pitched 1.0 inning, giving up two runs on one hit.
"We did a good job of scoring runners from third with less than two outs," said Head Coach Jerry DeFabbia. "We scored five times on productive outs. I thought our top of the order (1-3) did an excellent job today."
The Knights return to action tomorrow in the Buckeyes Classic as they take on the Dukes of Duquesne University. First pitch in the round-robin tournament is slated for 1:00 p.m.
