TEANECK, NJ - The Iona College baseball team came up short in its mid-week matchup against Fairleigh Dickinson by a final score of 5-2 at Naimoli Family Baseball Complex. Iona's two runs came courtesy on a sac-fly from senior Will Jennings, and a solo-shot from senior Jake Field.

GAME SUMMARY

After drawing a leadoff walk, senior Nick Carnevale took second base for his team leading ninth stolen base on the year. Carnevale advanced to third after a fielder's choice, setting up Jennings's first inning sac-fly to right field to put the Gaels up 1-0.

Junior Clark Eder made his first start of the season for the Gaels and he began his outing with a strikeout. After giving up a single and stolen base FDU had the tying runner in scoring position but Eder picked another up strikeout and an inning ending groundout to keep Iona in front after the opening inning. 

In the second inning Iona traded two-outs for a run after senior Vicente Mendoza got the first batter he faced to ground into a double play but Tom Ruscitti scored from third on the play. Mendoza got the next batter he faced to strikeout swinging to keep the game tied at 1-1, after two innings of play.

With nobody out and a runner on first, sophomore catcher Chris Mariani threw out his first runner of the season with Hunter D'Amato trying to swipe second base. However, two consecutive walks and an RBI fielder's choice from Tommy Verga gave the Knights its first lead of the afternoon. 

Two solid scoreless innings out of the bullpen from freshman Eric Gialloreto that included a strikeout, kept the game at 2-1 through five innings. Leading off the top of the sixth inning with the score still the same, Field launched a game tying home-run to left field for his second of the season, bringing us to a tie ball game.

FDU managed to take the lead right back as the bottom half of the sixth turned out to be the difference in the game. The Knights struck for three runs coming on a go-ahead two-run RBI single from D'Amato, and added another via a sac-fly to take a 5-2 advantage. 

Junior Loncey Conyers and senior Michael Untracht pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth inning to keep the deficit at three runs but the Gaels offense couldn't mount a comeback as Iona would fall to FDU by a final score of 5-2.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

• Field's game tying homer now ties him with Jennings for most on the team and he now is at six for his career. 
• Jenning's RBI sac-fly brings him to 10 runs batted in on the season which ranks best on the club.
• Carnevale has now reached base safely 11 straight games, along with reaching base in the first inning in his last six games in the leadoff spot.
• For the third game this season sophomore Phoenix Bowman recorded two hits after going 2-4 today with a single and double.
• Freshman Nick Dicarlo picked up his first career hit in the ninth inning with a single to left field.
• Iona makes it four straight games where they've scored in the first inning.

UP NEXT

The Gaels will head upstate to Buffalo for a three-game conference series against Canisius. Game one the series is scheduled for Friday, April 8th at 3:00 PM

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