Defense is absolutely critical in the game of baseball and that was evident on this afternoon as the LIU Sharks capitalized on five errors by the Farleigh Dickinson Knights which led to six of their nine runs. The Sharks came away with a 9-2 victory to pull off the weekend series sweep to improve to 8-4 on the season.
Coach Dan Pirillo‘s team has looked to hit their stride early on this season, being unaffected by the unusual circumstances surrounding this season. Remember, this is a group that dealt with the sudden merging of two programs last year as well – so they have come to expect the unexpected.
“With not having many non-conference games to start the year, we have to figure out our team on the offensive and defensive side on the fly,” said Pirillo. “The guys are learning to play with each other and play a brand of baseball that centers around, pitch, defense and speed through the lineup,” he added.
The offense got going in the second inning with the help of the first defensive miscue by FDU. Anthony Warneke hit what appeared to be a routine pop out to SS with runners on the corners, but TJ Werner was unable to make the play. It allowed the Sharks to get on the board with a 1-0 lead. Credit to FDU starter Brendan Adamscheck who worked out of a bases loaded jam with a ground out to second.
In the third inning, it was defense that did FDU in again. With two outs and a runner on second, Colin Adams hit a routine grounder to Tommy Verga, whose throw sailed wide to first to keep the inning going. Seth Surrett made it hurt with an RBI single to left center field, He stole second to get himself into scoring position and Cade Biddle cashed in with a two-run single to open up a 4-0 lead.
Werner atoned for his error with an RBI single in the top of the fifth to cut the deficit to 5-1.
The Sharks answered right back with a sac fly off the bat of Cade Biddle and EJ Exposito stayed red hot with a two-run single to open up a 7-1 lead. Exposito has been consistent through out the early part of the season for the Sharks, which has pleased Pirillo.
EJ Exposito with a 2- R single to CF and LIU leads 7-1 in the B5 pic.twitter.com/ZKm24zksD4
Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) April 3, 2021
“Exposito has been a great addition on-and-off the field. His talent shows on the field but his ability to make adjustments at bat-to-at bat and pitch-to-pitch has been big for his success,” he added. He finished with three hits on the day. He is hitting .347 with .431 OBP and .551 SLG. He is also leading the team with 14 RBI.
For the Sharks, starter Mike Lazos was lights-out and he did it without an overpowering fastball. He sat In the low 80s, but kept the opposition off balance. He went 6.1 IP, allowing just 1 ER on five hits while striking out four. He is now 4-0 on the season with a 2.21 ERA.
“Lazos is a fifth year guy who pitches with intent and composure,” said Pirillo. “He doesn’t let the moment get too big and challenges hitters. Experience and pitching to his strength plays a huge role in his success,” he added.
Sal Ferro and Rob Griswold came on in relief to close the door o the 9-2 win. The Sharks will be back in action on Tuesday at Sacred Heart.