The FDU baseball team came into Friday afternoon’s matchup against Mercyhurst, losers of eight straight games. As the series continued against an NEC foe, the Knights needed a win to stay in the conversation to make the conference tournament, set for May 22-25.
Tyler Worth’s two-run single in the eighth inning put FDU ahead and Nick Noble shut the door in the ninth as the Knights pulled out an 8-7 come-from-behind victory over Mercyhurst at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex in Teaneck.
Jeremy Cheeseman got the start for FDU and was given run support early. The Knights scored three runs in the bottom of the first as Hunter Ray hit a two-run home run to open the scoring. The next batter up was Johnathan Gomez, who went back-to-back with a solo homer of his own as FDU ended the first inning with a 3-0 lead.
Mercyhurst responded in the second as Cheeseman loaded the bases with one out. Casey Smith hit a sacrifice fly deep enough to score Landon DiBeradin and put the Lakers on the board. After a wild pitch put runners on second and third, Chris Juchno hit a two-run double to even the game up at three.
Mercyhurst added another run in the fourth as the Cheeseman was knocked out of the game after he loaded the bases again. With Ethan Rembish on the mound, Joe Trivisonno drove in Ethan Adams with a sacrifice fly to put the score at 4-3 in favor of the Lakers. Cheeseman left the game after allowing four runs on three hits over 3 1/3 innings. He walked five and hit two batters, which created most of the traffic on the basepaths in his outing.
Mercyhurst extended their lead to 6-3 after two runs in the fifth, but FDU continued their power hitter from Thursday in this game. Anthony Chiappetta led off the inning with a solo homer as FDU cut the lead to 6-4. After a double play made it two outs in the inning, Ray hit a solo home run to cut the FDU deficit to 6-5 as Ray’s second homer of the season set the stage for an exciting second half of the game.
Jayden Walker added to the Lakers’ lead to 7-5 in the top of the eighth with an RBI sacrifice fly. FDU went to bat in the bottom half of the inning against Nick Hamilton after Jacob Bazala ended his day after 88 pitches and five earned runs. The Knights went to work immediately, loading the bases and scoring a run on a wild pitch.
Nolan Kirsch replaced Hamilton, who walked Cheeseman and remained in the game as FDU’s designated hitter. The bases remained loaded after Jimmy Mantuano hit into a fielder’s choice, and that brought up Worth with one out. Worth slashed a single to left field, scoring Cheeseman and Diego Urreta to give FDU an 8-7 lead. There was an opportunity for more runs, but Chiappeta fouled out to left field in foul territory and Jimmy Mantuano was thrown out at home as he tried to score to end the inning.
Noble entered the game in the ninth as the Knights looked for their first victory since April 4. After two quick outs, Smith walked to put a man on. Juchno could not apply more pressure as he flew out to end the game and give FDU the win.
Ben Pika (1-2) picked up the win for the Knights after allowing just one run over two innings of work. Kirsch (0-3) picked up the loss for Mercyhurst after allowing the game-winning run in the eighth.
Hunter Ray went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs to lead FDU. Casey Juchno picked up two hits and drove in two for the Lakers.
What’s Next For FDU
The Knights will look to win the three-game series against Mercyhurst on Saturday afternoon. Game time is noon in Teaneck.
