FORT MYERS, Fla. (March 13, 2019) – The FDU-Florham baseball split a doubleheader against Finlandia University on Wednesday afternoon.
With the split, FDU moves to 4-4 on the season with Finlandia going to 2-9.
GAME 1: FDU-Florham 18, Finlandia 5
After surrendering a run in the top of the first, the Devils hung seven runs in the home half of the inning. Sophomore
Nate Peacock led off with single moved to second on a hit by pitch. After a walk by junior
Jonathan Biale loaded the bases, senior
Ian Havran brought in the game's first tally with an additional hit by pitch. Another walk and hit batter re-loaded the bases before senior
Jake Alercio lined a single to score sophomore
AJ Yurista. The Devils added two additional runs on free passes before the inning came to a close.
Freshman
Kyle Nepton made his first collegiate and retired spanning the first three frames. The Devils expanded their lead in the second, breaking through for six more markers. Havran led off with a triple and scored on a single by freshman
Tyler McCulloch. The next four hitters walked to drive in two runs before Biale singled home a run. Havran notched his second extra-base hit of the frame, doubling in a pair of runners.
The Lions answered back with three in the third before Nepton struck out the side in the fourth. Senior
Brandon Lopez entered in the fifth and ran into a little bit of trouble. The senior loaded the bases with no outs but escaped without allowing a run. FDU closed out their scoring in the fifth, tallying the final five runs. With two outs, Yurista was hit by a pitch while junior
Matt Armendinger and freshman
Bobby Hefferon walked to fill the bases. Sophomore
Chris Ciancimino and junior
Kevin Smiegocki hit consecutive two-run doubles before sophomore
Hakim Hamer singled in the final Devils tally. Lopez set the Lions down in the order in the sixth, but the Lions one additional run in the seventh.
GAME 2: Finlandia 11, FDU-Florham 10 (Eight Innings)
Finlandia touched up freshman
Thomas Consiglio for three runs in the first, taking advantage of an error while only recording one hit. FDU answered back in a big way, scoring six times in the second. Smiegocki and Armendinger led off with walks before Ciancimino was hit with a pitch to load the bases with no outs. After an error and walk jammed the bases again, Hamer lined a two-run single, and two hitters later junior
Billy Podurgiel lined a ribbie single.
The Lions got one back in the home half of the second, but Consiglio got a pair of fly ball outs to end the inning. Both sides went down scoreless in third, with senior
Will Lapham getting a groundout to finish the inning with men on first and second.
The Devils struck for two runs in the fourth, loading the bases on a double by junior
Michael Tufano and a walk coupled with a hit batter. McCulloch brought two runs home thanks to a two-run double. A Lions solo home-run in the fourth trimmed the gap to 8-5, but Lapham closed out the inning with a groundout to short.
Lapham punched out two in a scoreless fifth, and the Devils were able to stretch their edge in the sixth by a pair. Moskowitz worked a one-out walk, with freshman
Michael Dell'Unto reaching on an error. After fielder's choice put men on the corners, Peacock cleared them with a two-run double. Yurista entered the game on the mound in the sixth inning, striking out a pair in his first inning of work. He allowed a runner on second after a single and a stolen base but got a strikeout to end the inning.
The Lions trailed by five entering the final frame but battled back with one out. A bases-loaded single forced a pitching change, with junior
Arjun Alwis coming in from the bullpen. The first two batters he faced reached on errors, and the third was hit with a pitch to load the bases down two runs. The Lions level the game at 10 all with a two-run single up the middle, but senior
Joseph DeFeo was able to force extra innings by getting a strikeout. In the following inning, Finlandia delivered a walk-off single with one down to earn the split over the two games.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Nepton earned his first collegiate victory, throwing four frames with seven strikeouts against just one walk.
• Hamer collected the first two hits of his collegiate career before recording his first RBI's in the nightcap.
• Smiegocki extended his hitting streak to seven games and produced four RBI's in the opening game.
• McCulloch has at least two RBI's in four straight games and five overall this season.
• Over three innings of work, Lapham picked up three strikeouts. Over the two contests, the Devil hurlers had 16 strikeouts against just six walks.
• The 18 runs scored in game one marked the first FDU put up 18 since March 23, 2014, against Eastern.
UP NEXT
FDU closes out their Florida trip with a single against Rockford College tomorrow at 9 a.m.
