AUGUSTA, N.J. (Interstat) — Long Island Sharks defeated Fairleigh Dickinson Knights 22-8 on Sunday, May 24, 2026 at the Northeast Conference Baseball Championship. The Sharks scored seven runs in the first inning and never trailed, overcoming two home runs by Fairleigh Dickinson’s Hunter Ray to claim a lopsided victory that evened the season series between the rivals at two wins apiece.

Both teams entered the game with identical 1-1 records in the previous week’s head-to-head matchups. Long Island improved to 30-19-1 overall, while Fairleigh Dickinson fell to 34-20-1.

The Knights struck first in the top of the first inning when Jhonathan Gomez doubled and scored on a single by Diego Urreta. But Long Island answered immediately in the bottom half, sending 12 batters to the plate and scoring seven runs on just two hits, aided by four walks, two hit batters and a wild pitch. Ryan Rivera, Elijah Fairchild, Mike Polubinski, Nick Matson, Cord Dobrinski, Joseph Durso and Noah Sorensen all drove in runs as the Sharks built a 7-1 lead.

Fairleigh Dickinson chipped away. Ray led off the third inning with a solo home run to right field, cutting the deficit to 7-2. Long Island responded with three runs in the bottom of the third on an RBI single by Rivera and a two-run single by Fairchild to push the lead to 10-2.

The most decisive sequence came in the bottom of the fourth inning. With the Sharks leading 10-6 after Ray’s second homer of the day, a three-run blast in the top of the fourth, Long Island manufactured five runs despite recording only one hit. The inning began with a walk to Cord Dobrinski, followed by a hit batter, a strikeout and another walk to load the bases. A balk allowed Dobrinski to score. Then, with two outs, Rivera reached on a fielding error by the third baseman, allowing two more runs to cross unearned. Fairchild followed with a single that was misplayed by the right fielder, scoring two more unearned runs to stretch the lead to 15-6.

Torin Kassebaum, who entered in relief for Long Island in the top of the fourth, worked three innings and allowed four runs, three earned, on four hits while striking out three. He was credited with the win.

Travis Stroh homered for Fairleigh Dickinson in the fifth inning, but Long Island continued to pour it on. In the bottom of the sixth, Fairchild singled home a run, Rivera stole home and Joseph Durso capped the scoring with a grand slam to left field, his fourth hit of the game, driving in his fourth run of the afternoon. The blast made it 22-8.

Fairleigh Dickinson used six pitchers. Starter Drew Cisney failed to record an out in the first inning, allowing four runs on two hits and two walks. Derek Bartek, Joseph Barbarino, Chris Messina and Mason Hebert each saw action. Messina took the loss.

Despite the final score, Fairleigh Dickinson outhit Long Island 9-7. The Knights were undone by 10 walks issued by their pitching staff, seven hit batters and three errors that led to five unearned runs. Ray finished with two home runs and four RBIs for the Knights. Gomez doubled twice and scored two runs. For Long Island, Fairchild had three hits, including a double, and drove in five runs. Durso homered and walked twice, scoring three times. Rivera scored four runs and stole two bases.

The game, which began in the afternoon and ended in the early evening, marked the fourth meeting between the teams in 10 days. Long Island won 10-3 on May 22 after dropping a 22-12 decision on May 16. The Sharks also took an 11-inning contest 12-10 on May 15 and won 20-9 on May 14.