WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (March 30, 2019) – Freshman
Michael Dell'Unto's two-run single in the top of eighth gave the FDU-Florham baseball team a lead they would not relinquish in game two as the Devils topped King's 10-7 to earn split Saturday.
The Devils are now 8-12 overall, 2-7 within the Middle Atlantic Freedom Conference. King's drops to 8-11, 5-4 in the conference.
GAME 1: King's 4, FDU-Florham 1
The host Monarchs took the lead in the bottom of the first thanks to a pair of walks and an RBI single. FDU was able to level the game in the top of the second, starting with a lead-off single to left by sophomore
AJ Yurista. Yurista advanced to third on a one-bagger by senior
Ian Havran, who moved to second on the throw. Sophomore
Chris Ciancimino drove in Yurista with a groundout to shortstop which tied things at one.
Rookie
Kyle Nepton earned the start and allowed just one hit spanning the second and fifth innings. The Devils looked poised to take the lead over in the third, as freshman
Tyler McCulloch on an error to lead off the stanza. The rookie moved into scoring position on a Yurista single, but the next three hitters were retired.
King's took control of the opener by scoring three runs in the bottom of the sixth. The big blow of the inning was a two-run double with runners on second and third. The Devils didn't go away and put the tying run on base in the final stanza. Sophomore
Hakim Hamer led off with a single to right and pinch-runner
Nate Peacock moved to third on an infield hit by sophomore
Matt Nodoro. After a pitching change, the King's reliever induced a fielder's choice with two outs to end the game.
GAME 2: FDU-Florham 10, King's 7 (Eight Innings)
The Devils jumped all over the King's pitching, scoring five times across the first two innings. Junior
Kevin Smiegocki had an RBI single in the first before FDU tallied four in the second. With two runners on, sophomore
Joe Moskowitz delivered an RBI single before Nodoro brought home an additional run. With the bases loaded, Smiegocki singled in a pair through the right side, giving FDU a 5-0 edge after the top of the second.
King's battled back, scoring twice with two outs in the bottom of the second. The hosts put on a runner base in the third thanks to a walk, but sophomore
Jeremy Bello coaxed a 6-4-3 double-play to end the frame. The Devils added to their total in the fourth, with Ciancimino knocking in Smiegocki. The junior had reached on a fielder's choice with one out.
The Monarchs continued to chip away at the deficit, using a two-out rally to score twice in the fourth. The hosts took their first lead of game two, scoring three times on five hits in the fifth. Senior
Chris Portelli was able to end the inning, getting the final two outs via strikeouts. McCulloch and Smiegocki singled in the sixth while Peacock walked to load the bases, but a pop-out and fly-out ended the inning without runs.
Down to the final innings, Hamer started the comeback with a lead-off double to left-center field. Junior
Billy Podurgiel came on as a pinch-runner and moved to third on a groundout. After a strikeout, the Devils found themselves facing the final out. McCulloch was able to tie the game, dropping a single into centerfield to make the score 7-7. Portelli sent the Monarchs down in order in the seventh, forcing extra innings.
Smiegocki reached on an error to begin the eighth and was moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Peacock. Junior
Michael Tufano singled put to runners on the corners before he swiped second base. After a groundout, Dell'Unto delivered the go-ahead hit, the two-run double into left field scoring both Smiegocki and Tufano. Nodoro capped off the inning with an insurance run, an RBI single to right field.
Staked with the three-run lead, Portelli ran into trouble in the bottom of the frame. Two of the first three batters reached base before a fielder's choice put men on first and third with two outs. With the tying run at the dish, Portelli got a fly-ball to left field to close out the game and help FDU earn the split.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Yurista had hits in both games, extending his hitting streak to seven games.
• Hamer went 4-for-5 across both games, including his first career extra-base hit in the nightcap. The sophomore has safely in five of his six appearances this season, including a pair of multi-hit outings.
• Portelli earned his third win of the season, tossing a season-high 3 2/3 innings. The senior moved into the team-lead with his third victory.
• FDU scored 10 runs or more for the seventh time this season, improving to 5-2 in those games.
UP NEXT
The Devils will be back in action on Tuesday, traveling to Montclair, N.J. to take on Montclair State University at 3:30 p.m.
