Chris Messina is becoming FDU’s shutdown lefty
In the 2026 season, Chris Messina emerged as a high-impact arm for Fairleigh Dickinson, going 5-0 while striking out 47 batters in 48.1 innings and holding opponents to a .246 average. He broke out with five shutout innings on Opening Day against Gardner-Webb, then followed that up with another dominant five-inning, one-hit, four-strikeout outing in FDU’s 6-0 win over the Bulldogs. The big draw: he’s a composed, attack-the-zone lefty with starter-level poise out of the bullpen, and Perfect Game previously ranked him among New York’s better left-handed pitchers.
