SUMMARY

SALISBURY, MD. - The Fairleigh Dickinson Knights never trailed en route to a win, 11-6, over the Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks on Senior Day at Henry S. Parker Athletic Complex.

THE SCORE

FDU Knights - 11

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks - 6

(Knights win series 2-1)

HOW IT HAPPENED

On a sunny day in Salisbury, Maryland, the visiting Knights scored first for the third time in this series, plating three runs in the opening frame and adding one more in the second inning. The Hawks answered in the fourth inning with a solid rally. Ryan Howe, in his final game at home as a Hawk, began the frame by singling to right field. Jonathan Gonzalez Perez followed up Howe's single with one of his own to get runners on first and second. Howe advanced to third on a deep fly out by Jason Brown, allowing the Hawks to continue turning up the aggression on the base paths. With runners on the corners, Gonzalez made a dash towards second base and, while the FDU catcher made a throw to the second base bag, Ryan Howe stole home to get the Maroon and Grey on the board. Later on in the inning, Ryan Davis crushed a single to left field to drive in both Christian Azcona and Gonzalez to get the Hawks within one run, 4-3.

Fairleigh Dickinson matched the Hawks' three run innings with a trio of runs in the top of the fifth inning. Despite the four-run deficit, Maryland Eastern Shore once again battled back. In the fourth frame, the first five batters for the Hawks all reached base, highlighted by RBI singles by both Howe and Gonzalez. Then, with two outs in the inning, Davis once again delivered a huge hit. In his final home game as a Hawk, Davis once again smoked a single to left field to drive in Gonzalez. At the end of the fifth inning, the Hawks trailed by just a single run, 7-6.

Unfortunately for the Hawks, the Knights would go on to score the final four runs of the game, three of which came from mistakes by the Hawks on wild pitches, walks, and errors. FDU paired the insurance runs with some stellar pitching from the back end of their bullpen to clinch the series finale, 11-6. 

THE NUMBERS

The Hawks scored six runs on 13 hits and two errors while the Knights tallied 11 runs and 10 hits on no errors.

Jonathan Gonzalez Perez finished 4-for-5 at the plate. This is the third game this season in which he recorded three or more hits.

Ryan Davis finished 3-for-5 at the plate with three RBI. In his final game at home in his great career, Davis tied his season-high for both hits and RBI.

CELEBRATING THE SENIORS

The Hawks celebrated the careers of Jason Brown, Ryan Davis, Danny Sadler Jr., Michael Blackiston, Cade Williams, Ryan Howe, Tyler Prather, and Brandon Gomez.

UP NEXT

With this loss, the Hawks fall to 5-38 (4-23) on the season. Maryland Eastern Shore will head to Baltimore to take on UMBC in a midweek showdown. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.

FOLLOW ALONG

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