Stewart Goodwin

April 9, 2005

STATEN ISLAND, NY - The Fairleigh Dickinson University baseball team split a Northeast Conference (NEC) doubleheader at Wagner on Saturday afternoon. The Seahawks came from behind to hand the Knights a 9-8 defeat in the opener, but FDU bounced back with a 12-3 win behind a 16-hit attack in game two.

Freshman John O'Hara tossed a complete game four-hitter to lift the Knights (5-12, 3-4 NEC) to their win. Seniors Ben Cass and Stewart Goodwin each went 5-for-9 in the doubleheader, leading an FDU offense that racked up 26 hits. Cass cracked a home run in each game and knocked in three runs, while Goodwin collected a pair of doubles and drove in seven runs. Senior Mike Knorr went 4-for-7 on the day with a pair of runs batted in.

Cass gave the Knights a 1-0 lead with a solo home run to lead off the second inning, but Wagner (12-13, 4-3 NEC) answered with a run in the bottom of the inning.

Ben Cass

The Knights came right back in the third, getting an RBI double off the bat of John Desiderio and a run-scoring single by Goodwin. They tacked on another run to pull ahead 4-1 in the fourth on a John Ojeda single that knocked in Carmine Vetrano, who led off with a double.

The Knights scored four runs on only two hits in the fifth, taking advantage of an error, one walk and a hit batter. Goodwin and Knorr drove in two runs each in the inning and FDU headed to the bottom of the fifth with an 8-1 lead.

Wagner cut the margin to 8-3 with a pair of runs in the fifth and then posted six runs in the sixth, all of them unearned as the Seahawks took advantage of three errors.

The Knights threatened to score in the seventh as Cass singled to lead off. Pinch-hitter Ed Watson moved him over with a sacrifice bunt, but Wagner reliever Jon Polinitza worked out of the jam and earned the save.

Wagner struck first in game two, scoring an unearned run in the bottom of the second inning. Chris Grabowski then led off the third with a walk for FDU. After stealing second he moved over on a sacrifice bunt by Desiderio and scored on a base hit by Matt Born, tying the game at 1-1.

FDU went ahead in the fifth, posting three runs on four hits and taking advantage of another Seahawk error. Grabowski drove in two runs and Born knocked in the other as the Knights pulled ahead 4-1.

John O'Hara

The Knights stretched the margin to 10-1 with a six-run sixth inning. Goodwin knocked in three with a bases loaded double and Cass smacked his second round-tripper of the day, this one a two-run shot.

Troy Sogliuzzo touched O'Hara for a solo home run to lead off the sixth and cut the margin to 10-2, but the Knights came right back with two more unearned runs in the seventh for some insurance.

Wagner took advantage of an FDU error for an unearned run in their last at bat, but O'Hara closed the door to earn his first collegiate win.

O'Hara struck out three in the game and allowed just one earned run on four hits.

The two teams will complete their series with a single nine-inning game at noon on Sunday, April 10.