By Anthony Covino
Sports Writer
The Knights baseball season is well underway and they have yet to find their groove. Nineteen games into the season, their record stands at 3-16-1 with a 1-2 NEC record, occupying the Northeast Conference basement. The Knights have a 1-3-1 record at home and a 1-12 record away.
The Knights ended a 13-game losing streak on March 23, beating Mount St. Mary’s, 12-9.
Fourteen out of 15 Knights’ pitchers have an earned run average of 4 or more. Freshman Ryan Seburn, a right-hander, has the best ERA with a 1.69 mark. The Knights’ ERA stands at 9.52 with a total of 133 walks and 102 strikeouts.
The Knights gave up 65 earned runs in four consecutive games:
- (March 17) 16-2 loss to Pennsylvania,
- (March 19) 20-6 loss to Lehigh,
- (March 20) 19-9 loss to La Salle,
- (March 23) 11-3 loss to Mount Saint Mary’s.
The Knights play over 50 games in the regular season before the start of the NEC tournament on Thursday, May 23 at Dodd Stadium in Norwich, Conn.
The Knights have been getting the runs in each game as redshirt freshman infielder Adam Frank has a .345 batting average, junior outfielder Mike Veit is batting .333, and senior catcher Evan McDonald is batting .315.
The Knights are batting .254 while their opponents’ batting average is .338. That is a huge difference as FDU’s pitching has not been able to stay consistent as the season rolls on.
Freshman first baseman Salvatore Monticciolo was recently named NEC player of the week and leads the team with five home runs. Monticciolo also leads the team in runs batted in with 19 total.
Freshman outfielder Tom Ruscitti has four home runs of his own.
The Knights begin conference play a three-game series against Sacred Heart, March 29-31 at home at the Naimoli Family Baseball Complex. The Knights need to turn things around in conference play as that will be their only way to make it into the postseason in the Northeast Conference tournament.
The Knights are led by interim coach Justin McKay in his first season as head coach after six years as recruiting coordinator and offensive coach.
The Knights are hosting NEC opponent Sacred Heart in a three-game series this weekend.
