MONTCLAIR, N.J. (April 13, 2019) – The FDU-Florham baseball team was topped 11-2 and 9-2 by DeSales University on Senior Day Saturday afternoon.
The Devils drop to 11-18 on the season, 4-11 in the Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom. In a pregame ceremony before game one, FDU honored seniors
Ian Havran,
Jake Alercio,
Brad Norris,
Chris Portelli,
Will Lapham,
Kevin Smiegocki,
Joseph DeFeo,
Brandon Lopez, and
Kevin Brown along with team manager
Nick DiNizo.
GAME 1: DeSales 11, FDU-Florham 2
FDU drew first blood, scoring single runs in each of the first two innings. Sophomore
Nate Peacock reached on a one-out single before moving to third on a knock by classmate
AJ Yurista. Senior
Ian Havran beat out a ground ball hit to short to plate Peacock. Freshman
Kyle Nepton set the Bulldogs down in order in the top of the second, before the Devils doubled their lead in the bottom of the second. Sophomore
Joe Moskowitz lined a leadoff double to right before moving up a base on a Smiegocki groundout. Alercio dropped down a safety squeeze bunt with one out, scoring Moskowitz.
The Bulldogs leveled the contest in the third, but Norris kept the game tied by allowing just one hit spanning seven batters. The visitors broke the game open with five runs in the sixth before adding four more on five hits in the seventh. Junior
Jonathan Biale and sophomore
Matt Nodoro each recorded hits over the final two innings but were unable to cross the plate.
GAME 2: DeSales 9, FDU-Florham 2
DeSales opened the second contest with three first-inning tallies before the Devils answered back with two of runs of their own in the bottom half. Nodoro led off the frame with a double to right-center, and three batters later, Havran singled through the left side to knock in Nodoro. After a McCulloch groundout put runners on second and third, Moskowitz walked, but a wild pitch sent Yurista home to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Brown allowed baserunners in the second and third but escaped both without allowing a run to score. Nodoro reached on a lead-off error in the third and stole second, but was picked off before he could advance any further. A two-out home run in the fourth doubled the Bulldog advantage before the Devils put runners on the corners in the home half of the inning. McCulloch reached on an error and moved to third on a single by Smiegocki. Biale grounded out to retire the side.
DeSales added three runs in the fifth and two in the sixth to cap off the scoring for the visitors. The Devils collected just one hit over the final stanzas; a lead-off single up the middle in the fifth from junior
Billy Podurgiel.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Podurgiel was a perfect 2-for-2 in the second game after entering the opener as a defensive replacement.
• Norris allowed just one hit in 2 1/3 innings of relief. He has not allowed a run in his last five appearances, totaling 14 innings.
• Yurista went 2-for-4 as the designated hitter in the first game.
• Havran knocked in a run in both ends of the twin bill.
• Brown struck out a career-best seven hitters in his 4 1/3 innings of work today.
UP NEXT
The Devils will battle Drew University in the Battle of Madison Ave. on Wednesday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
