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EASTON, Pa. - Trailing 6-3 at the seventh-inning stretch, Lafayette scored three runs over its next two trips to the plate to tie up the score in its home opener against Fairleigh Dickinson at Kamine Stadium.

The Knights' No. 9 hitter Bobby Romano, however, drilled the first pitch of the ninth inning over the wall in center field, and the visitors closed the door in the bottom of the frame to secure a 7-6 victory on Tuesday afternoon.

Romano and leadoff man Shane Siebler accounted for a majority of FDU's offensive attack, going a combined 5-for-8 with five RBIs and four runs scored. Steven Cohen led the Leopards with two hits, including a game-tying opposite-field homer in the eighth, three RBIs and a pair of runs.

The Maroon and White quickly jumped on opposing starter Joe Flack in the opening inning, with back-to-back doubles from Dan Leckie and Cohen leading to the game's first run. Patrick Nelson then plated Cohen with a sacrifice fly after the sophomore shortstop registered his second stolen base of the season with a swipe of third.

The Knights (2-5) managed only one hit off Lafayette starter David Giusti, but they made that hit count. Giusti retired the first seven in order before Jason Fatzinger reached on an error with one out in the third. Following a walk to Romano, Siebler drilled his first long ball of the season to give the visitors a 3-2 advantage. Giusti departed after the inning, allowing two earned runs while striking out two in his first collegiate start.

Michael Coniglio quickly helped the Leopards even things back up in the bottom of the frame. After leading off with a double in the gap, he stole his team-leading fifth base of 2016 to get to third base, and Cohen brought him home with an RBI groundout. Coniglio initially held up at third on the play, but alertly darted home after the throw to first.

Trevor Houck kept FDU off the scoreboard over the next two innings, fanning three in a successful relief appearance. The Knights, though, regained the lead in the top of the sixth on a two-out RBI single by Dylan Sprague. They then added two more runs in the seventh to open up a 6-3 edge.

Jackson Kramer hit one of his two doubles on the day to get Lafayette's rally started with one out in the seventh. He was brought home by Coniglio's second double two batters later. Andrew Landolfi was hit by a pitch in between those doubles, and he scored on a Leckie fielder's choice to reduce the margin to one.

Cohen's long ball, the first for any Leopard this season and the sixth of his collegiate career, led off the eighth inning. That would turn out, however, to be Lafayette's final baserunner. FDU pitcher Tim Quinn (1-0) retired the side in order after Cohen's homer, and Ryan Brennan set the Leopards down 1-2-3 to pick up the save after Romano's dinger off of Connor McMahon (0-1).

Cohen, who had a total of 23 RBIs during his strong freshman season last spring, is already up to 12 through the first nine games of this campaign after driving in three this afternoon.

The Leopards (2-7) will be back on the road this weekend, traveling to Atlanta, Ga., to take on Georgia State in a four-game series. The first of those contests is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday night.

Notes:

Cohen upped his team-high batting average to .382 with today's 2-for-4 performance.

Coniglio is now a perfect 5-for-5 in stolen base attempts to start the 2016 season.

Kramer nearly added a third hit to go along with his pair of doubles in the ninth inning, but his long fly ball to left field was caught right at the edge of the warning track in front of the foul pole.