Game Summary

The Gaels valued the long ball early as Kemp would send a ball over the fence in the top of the first inning. Fairleigh Dickinson responded quickly, managing to tie the game at 1-1 in the bottom half of the inning, capitalizing on a wild pitch to bring a runner home. In the second, junior Damian Rodriguez kept his hot streak alive, driving in a run with an RBI single. Remarkably, Rodriguez has now recorded a hit in every game he's appeared in this season. However, FDU would once again even the score, taking advantage of a throwing error to make it 2-2.

What looked like it might be a quiet third inning quickly turned into a game-changing frame for Iona. With two outs already recorded, sophomore JC Frias displayed patience at the plate, working his second walk of the game to keep the inning alive. That brought up Overton, who crushed a two-run home run to left field, giving the Gaels a 4-2 advantage and setting the stage for his massive day at the dish. Junior Anthony Zollo followed with a sharp double, and Febo kept the momentum rolling with a towering two-run homer to right field, marking Iona's third straight extra-base hit. In the bottom of the third, Lender delivered a dominant one-two-three inning, striking out two batters and keeping the Knights off the board.

In the fourth, back-to-back singles set up freshman Sean Stephenson, who lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to bring in another run. Later in the inning, Overton continued his big day with a line-drive RBI single to center field, extending the lead to 8-2. However, FDU refused to go quietly. The Knights clawed back in the bottom of the fourth, plating three runs on just two hits, cutting the deficit to 8-5. They added another run in the fifth to inch closer, making it a tight 8-6 ballgame.

Iona's offense once again provided breathing room in the sixth. Overton and Febo both ripped doubles, inching closer to hitting for the cycle—each needing only a triple to complete the rare feat. Senior Matt Wessels then grounded into a double play, but not before pushing across another run to make it 11-6.

The seventh inning proved to be the final blow from the Gaels' red-hot bats. Stephenson added another RBI to his day, Frias chipped in with a run-scoring hit, and Overton capped off his monster game by driving in yet another run. The Gaels had extended their lead to 14-6. FDU managed to tack on one more run in the bottom of the seventh, but with bad weather moving into the area, the game was called early, locking in a decisive 14-7 victory for Iona.

Junior Tyler Lender earned his first win of both the season and his Iona career. FDU's Evan Doyle was tagged with his first loss of the year as the Knights struggled to contain Iona's relentless offense. 

TEAM STATS

• Iona dominated the strike out battle, 13-6.
• FDU stole three bags to Iona's zero.
• The Gaels put on a hitting clinic, outing the Knights, 16-5.
• The Maroon & Gold had one error.

notable nuggets

• Overton had his career day for the Gaels tallying four hits and four RBIs.
• Rodriguez continued his hit streak now up to nine games.
• Febo performed his best game of the year getting three hits and three RBIs.
• Stephenson has reached base safely in all 10 games for the Gaels this season.
• Senior Joey Kasper got 5/6 of his outs via the strikeout in his relief appearance.

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