MADISON, N.J. – The FDU-Florham baseball team fell behind early to the DeSales University Bulldogs but managed to piece together a couple of successful innings at the plate and went on to claim a 7-3 Freedom Conference victory in game one of the doubleheader, but the Bulldogs used a late surge on offense in game two to bounce the Devils 7-5 Saturday afternoon in Madison, N.J.
Senior AJ Pichalski (Iselin, N.J.) got the start in game one for FDU-Florham (4-14, 2-5 Freedom) and he struggled out of the gate, allowing three first inning runs to the Bulldogs (11-11, 8-2 Freedom). However, the reigning Freedom Conference Player of the Week bounced right back and went on to pitch 4.1 scoreless innings while striking out seven batters. With Pichalski keeping the Bulldogs' bats in check, the Devils were able to climb back into the game.
In the third inning, sophomore Nick Meoli (East Meadow, N.Y.) got the inning started with a single into right field. Vinny Bonaccorso (Toms River, N.J.) and Reynaldo Diaz (Monroe, N.Y.) then followed with a pair of singles to load the bases up. Freshman Christopher Franco (Wayne, N.J.) stepped up to the plate and drew a bases loaded walk. Following the Franco walk, Nick DeAngelis (East Hanover, N.J.) and Josh DellaPietro (Bayville, N.J.) notched back-to-back singles and brought in two runs to help the Devils claim a 4-3 lead over the Bulldogs.
The Devils were back at it in the fourth when they loaded the bases up once again. Diaz was up at the plate and he sent a booming fly ball to deep right to bring in a run. Franco followed by rifling a single into right field to make it a three-run game. Before the inning came to a close, DeAngelis grounded out to third but not before another run crossed the plate for the Devils.
Meoli was one of the most efficient hitters for the Devils in the contest, batting 3-for-3 with two runs scored. Meanwhile, DeAngelis and Franco combined for four RBI on three hits.
In the second game, the Bulldogs were once again able to jump out to an early lead when the speedy Tommy DePaul shot an RBI single down the left field line to bring in the first run for DeSales.
After struggling to get the bats going, the Devils finally managed to get to the towering Bulldogs starter,Cameron Hoos, in the fourth. Meoli kicked off the inning with a single to left center and then he came around to score after Bonaccorso crushed an RBI triple into right field. With Bonaccorso sitting on third, Diaz launched a ball down the left field line for an RBI double. Diaz then scored after a Franco single into center.
Trailing 3-1 heading into the top of the fifth, the Bulldogs bats came alive. The Bulldogs loaded the bases after Tyler Sweeney was hit by a Bobby Bray (Fairfax, VA) pitch. Bray then walked the next two batters and the game was tied up at 3-3. The Bulldogs went on to plate four more runs in the inning to take a 7-3 lead.
In the fifth, Kevin Sinclair (Fairfield, CT) walked to start off the inning and after two more hitters reached base safely, Diaz stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and one out. He drew a walk and the Devils scored. The Bulldogs then went to the bullpen and Chris Polaski came in to replace the struggling Hoos on the mound. Polaski got the Devils to bounce out into an inning-ending double play.
The Devils managed to score one final run in the sixth after a Sinclair single to deep left center. However, the rally ended there for FDU-Florham as they were shut down the rest of the way.
The Devils will welcome the Delaware Valley University Aggies to Madison for a double header on Sunday, April 12. Game one is set to start at 1 p.m.
