March 12, 2011
Final Stats
The Saints just needed a taste of that New York weather to get in gear. Siena's offense went to work in the opener, pitching was the difference in the nightcap, and the defense was solid all day, in a doubleheader sweep of Fairleigh Dickinson 12-4 and 3-0 on the campus of Long Island University-Brooklyn Saturday afternoon.
Mike Fish homered twice in the opener, and Dan Paolini launched his fourth home run of the season in the first inning helping Siena sprint to a 9-1 lead they never looked back from.
Kyle Sumple went the distance on the bump for the Saints in game one, allowing nine hits and four runs over seven strong innings. He struck out five and walked just two.
Siena scored four times in its first at bat, the first two runs coming on Fish's first home run of the game, and the third on Paolini's blast. Fish finished the game 3-for-4 with three runs scored and four RBI. His second home run was a two-run shot in the fifth.
Freshman Adam Guinn had two of his three hits this season in the first game Saturday for the Saints, and all nine hitters reached base safely with seven collected at least one hit.
Justin Brantley pitched the first six and a third innings in the second game, and reliever Ryan Poplawski came on in the seventh to get a huge double play to preserve the shutout.
FDU out-hit Siena 4-3 in game two, but Kevin Quaranto's double got the Saints on the board in the fifth, and he later scored on a sacrifice fly. Siena added an insurance run in the sixth when Paolini drew a one-out walk, stole second and scored on Vincent Citro's RBI single. The freshman Citro is one of four Saints hitting over .300 on the season.
Brantley ended with six strikeouts, two walks and just three hits allowed in his 6.1 innings of work.
Siena played flawless defense on the day, going errorless in 14 innings in the field. Defense had been a major problem through the nine-game losing streak that started the season.
The two teams complete the three-game set Sunday at 1 p.m. at LIU-Brooklyn.
