Saturday, February 22
Davidson, N.C.
1:00 PM
Lehigh University
1-1
4
vs
2
Fairleigh Dickinson
0-2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Fairleigh Dickinson
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
2
11
0
Lehigh
0
0
0
4
0
0
0
0
X
4
7
1
Strong fourth inning leads Lehigh to 4-2 win over Fairleigh Dickinson
2/22/2014 4:32:00 PM | Baseball
DAVIDSON, N.C. – A four-run fourth inning was enough for the Lehigh baseball team to capture its first win of the season in a 4-2 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday afternoon. Junior starter Nick Stephens enjoyed a strong outing and the bullpen took over from there as Lehigh bounced back from an extra-inning loss to Mount St. Mary's yesterday to improve to 1-1.
"Nick gave us an outstanding start and set the tone," said head coach Sean Leary. "Faust and McKay both came up with clutch hits, and McKay also made two outstanding plays at the plate to end two innings. The bullpen came in and competed very well to put together a really nice team outing."
Stephens struck out the side in the first inning to begin his outing and remained in control over the next three innings, allowing three hits and no runs.
Sophomore Mike Garzillo and senior Joe Abeln began the fourth inning with back-to-back singles before junior John Elson drew a walk to load the bases with one out. Junior Connor Faust followed with a base hit to center that drove home Garzillo and Abeln to put the Mountain Hawks up 2-0. With runners on first and second and two outs, junior Tim McKay stepped up to rope a double that scored two more as Lehigh doubled its lead at the end of the fourth inning.
Fairleigh Dickinson got on the board with an RBI from Joel Roman in the fifth, but Stephens worked his way out of a two-on no-out jam with the help of centerfielder Justin Pacchioli who threw out at runner at the plate to keep Lehigh ahead 4-1 and strand three Knights on base.
Junior righty Jordan Smith took the mound to relieve Stephens in the sixth as Stephens finished a five-inning outing with seven strikeouts and six hits while allowing one earned run. A Fairleigh Dickinson RBI to center field in the seventh inning gave the Knights one more run, but freshman David Young took over on the mound to limit the damage and send Lehigh into the seventh-inning stretch with a 4-2 lead.
Senior Joey McNamara came in to pitch in the eighth and allowed just one hit before retiring the Knights in order in the ninth to record the save and help Lehigh to its first win.
Stephens claimed the win, while FDU's Brendan Butler suffered the loss after allowing four runs and seven hits in six innings of work. The Knights left nine runners on base throughout the game compared to Lehigh's four.
Faust finished the game 2-for-3 with 2 RBI, while McKay recorded a pair of RBI as well.
The Mountain Hawks wrap up their trip to North Carolina tomorrow at 10 a.m. against Fairleigh Dickinson. Lehigh will then head to Seton Hall for a Wednesday afternoon matchup.
Like Lehigh baseball on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive updates throughout the season.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Stephens, Nick (1-0)
L: BUTLER (0-1)
S: McNamara, Joey (1)
Batting:
2B: MOONAN 1 ; BRENNAN 1 ; TONDI 1 ; ROMAN 1
RBI: SIEBLER 1 ; ROMAN 1
Base Running:
RUNS: TONDI 1 ; ROMAN 1
Batting:
2B: McKay, Tim 1
RBI: Faust, Connor 2 ; McKay, Tim 2
SH: Abeln, Joe 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Garzillo, Mike 1 ; Abeln, Joe 1 ; Elson, John 1 ; Faust, Connor 1
SB: Garzillo, Mike 1
CS: Pacchioli, Justin 1 ; Faust, Connor 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Baseball vs. Coppin State
Tuesday, April 29
Baseball vs. Penn
Wednesday, March 19
Baseball vs. UAlbany
Sunday, March 16
Season Preview Baseball
Thursday, February 13
