Emmitsburg, Md. (May 18, 2007)--Mount St. Mary's used a seventh-inning rally in both games to earn a doubleheader sweep of Fairleigh Dickinson in Northeast Conference action at Straw Family Stadium on campus. With the wins, the Mount (34-20, 20-7 NEC) moves back into first place in the NEC, one-half game ahead of Quinnipiac, with one game remaining. Freshman Mike Matta picked up the win in relief in each game.

In the opening game, Matt Staso walked with the bases loaded to force home Matt Eiden with the winning run in the Mount's 4-3 victory. Trailing 3-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh, the Mount scored a pair of runs to earn the win. Mike Gioioso opened the seventh with a walk before Eiden reached on an error that put runners on second and third with no outs. Ivor Hodgson followed with an RBI single to tie the score before Justus Yocum was walked intentionally to load the bases. Staso then pinch hit and walked for the game-winning RBI.

The Mount took the lead on Josh Vittek's RBI ground out in the bottom of the third, but the Knights (9-44, 4-22 NEC) scored single runs in the fourth and fifth to grab a 2-1 lead. John Paganotti's RBI single in the fourth tied the game and Luis Rosario's solo home run in the fifth gave the Knights the lead.

The Mount rallied to tie the game in the sixth on Eric Smith's RBI single. The Mount had a chance to take the lead, but FDU pitcher Ben Green got out of the bases loaded jam. The Knights took a 3-2 lead in the top of the seventh on Mark Morton's RBI single.

Mount starter Bucky Kosyk allowed three runs and six hits while striking out five in six innings of work in a no decision. Hodgson and Joe Hayes each had two hits in the win for the Mount while Zachary Sand and Rosario were each 2-for-3 in the loss.

Hodgson's RBI infield single capped a two-run rally in the bottom of the seventh in the Mount's 6-5 win in the second game. After seeing the Knights score three times in the top of the inning, the Mount scored a pair of runs for their second comeback win on the day.

In the seventh, Hayes led off with a single and pinch runner Brandon Woods moved to second on a Gioioso sacrifice bunt. Eiden followed with an infield single to put runners on first and second with one out. On the next play, Eiden was force out at second on a grounder by Justus Yocum, but the throw to first on the attempted double play was wild, allowing Woods to scamper home with the tying run. Yocum then stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by the catcher, setting up Hodgson's heroics. Hodgson grounded the ball up the middle and beat the throw to first as Yocum scored the winning run.

Smith gave the Mount a 1-0 lead on a sacrifice fly in the first and the Mount scored three times in the second to take a 4-1 lead. After FDU scored an unearned run in the top of the second, the Mount staged a two-out rally for three runs in the bottom of the frame. Gioioso tripled and Eiden followed with an RBI single. Yocum then tripled to plate Eiden, and later scored on a wild pitch.

Chris Grabowski's RBI double in the third cut the Mount lead to 4-2. The score remained there until the seventh, when the Knights scored three times to grab a 5-4 advantage. Corey Jeffers led off the seventh with a solo home run to cut the lead to 4-3. Matt Maher and Morton each followed with bunt singles before the next two batters were retired. Jeff Vincent then came through with a clutch double to plate both runners to give FDU the lead.

Matta allowed one run in one inning to pick up the win in the second game to improve to 4-3 on the year. Hodgson allowed four runs (three earned) in six innings in the no decision. Ryan Hennessy allowed five hits and two runs (one earned) in 1.2 inning to take the loss.

Hodgson went 3-for-4 at the plate in the second game while Yocum was 2-for-4 with three runs scored and two stolen bases. The two steals give Yocum 37 in his career at the Mount, moving him into second place on the all-time list. Hodgson finished the day 5-for-8 with two RBI in the twin bill. Grabowski was 2-for-4 at the plate to lead the Knights.

The teams conclude the four-game series with a nine-inning game at 11:00 a.m. at Straw Family Stadium on campus. The Mount will honor its 10 seniors in a pre-game ceremony.

Game Notes...The Mount now leads the NEC with a 20-7 league mark, one-half game ahead of Quinnipiac (19-7)...Quinnipiac had its game today postponed due to rain and will play Sacred Heart in a twinbill tomorrow...To win its first NEC regular season title, the Mount needs to win tomorrow and have Quinnipiac lose once...Eric Smith's two RBI on the day give him 58 on the season, matching the Mount's single-season record set by Brian Thomas in 1999.