Twelve Hits Not Enough As Baseball Downed by FDU-Florham

YAPHANK, N.Y. — In an error-free game that featured 27 combined base hits, the St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) baseball team saw their three-game winning streak halted in an 11-2 loss to Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham on Monday evening at Baseball Heaven.

Senior Chris Cutrone (Levittown, N.Y./Island Trees) and sophomore Nicholas LoPrinzi (Howard Beach, N.Y./St. Francis Prep) both knocked three hits on the day, Cutrone knocked the lone extra base hit for the Bears with a double, scored a run and extended his hitting streak to seven while LoPrinzi accounted for the lone Bears' RBI.

The game moved swiftly through the first three innings but the Devils (3-13) got on the board first with two runs in the fourth. Nick Meoli scored on a wild pitch after knocking a ground rule double and Nick DeAngelis delivered a run with a two-out single. The Bears (9-11) escaped further damage with the defense catching the Devils trying to execute a double steal with runners at the corners to end the inning.

St. Joseph's cut the deficit in half in the home half of the inning with LoPrinzi's two-out single through the right side plating Cutrone who earlier singled, advanced to second on a grounder and stole third.

But the Devils used a big seven-run frame in the fifth to take control of the game for good. FDU had seven straight batters reach safely with one out, five on base hits, capped by a grand slam from Chris Franco.

The Bears managed to get one back in the bottom half of the inning but couldn't generate any more runs despite six hits and two walks over the final four frames.

The Devils would tack on two runs in the ninth and finish with 15 hits. Freshman Kenny Carrier picked up his first collegiate win for FDU tossing five innings, striking out four and allowing two runs on six hits.

Freshman Patrick Broder (Baldwin, N.Y./Oceanside) would take the loss in his first collegiate start, striking out one in 4 1/3 innings of work. Junior Sean O'Melia (Woodside, N.Y./Monsignor McClancy) tossed 2 2/3 innings of scoreless one-hit ball in relief, striking out two. Sophomore Anthony Amatuzzi (Staten Island, N.Y./Xaverian) also worked a scoreless inning in the eighth.

St. Joseph's continues a busy week of games hosting United States Collegiate Athletic Association foe Briarcliffe College tomorrow at the SJC Outdoor Complex starting at 3 p.m. (Please note earlier start time.) Both squads entered ranked in the first USCAA Coaches Poll with the Bears at No. 11 and the Bulldogs at No. 20.