QUINTIN JAMES
Staff Writer
Coming off a loss at home, the Fredonia Blue Devils baseball team needed a spark to turn its season around before it was too late. It had another home game to play before going out on the road to face off against New Paltz.
The players are in the middle of a heated SUNYAC playoff race and these next few games will be crucial to the success of the season for the Blue Devils. Throughout the entire season though, the Blue Devils have kept in good spirits.
Senior catcher Dan Cecilia knows how frustrating losing is but is still confident in this team.
“We always break down every practice and game with the whole team saying ‘family.’ Our team identity has always been ‘never give up’ and we have proven that in the past,” said Cecilia. “We win as a team and we lose as a team. There are no individual egos; everybody has a role and everybody shares the success and failure.”
The Blue Devils started the week by ending their long, eight-game losing streak by beating Hilbert College in a rain-shortened game 5-2.
The Blue Devils came out early and jumped out to a 4-0 lead after two innings. Junior second baseman Liam Kelly led the offense reaching base four times. The game was called in the seventh inning due to rain.
After that win, the Blue Devils traveled to New Paltz to face the Hawks on Saturday and Sunday in a three-game weekend set that could’ve been a good way to get back to the baseball they played in Florida. Instead of that, they were dealt three losses with their offense disappearing once again.
Game one started out well for Fredonia as the team grabbed a 1-0 lead early. After that, New Paltz scored four runs in the third inning and never looked back as it won the game 6-3. Freshman outfielder Kevin Yirinec led the Blue Devils as he hit a homerun in the fourth inning and had an RBI walk with the bases loaded.
Games two and three of the three-part series were a doubleheader where the Blue Devils played better, but ended up losing both games to New Paltz. Game one of the doubleheader saw the Blue Devils get shut out 4-0. Fredonia managed only four hits in game one and failed to get a runner past second base.
Game two of the doubleheader saw Fredonia make a late attempt at a comeback only to fall to New Paltz 4-2.
They had the bases loaded in the top of the ninth inning, only to not get the winning run across. After getting down 2-0 in the third inning, the Blue Devils scored one in the seventh, only for New Paltz to come back with two the next inning. Fredonia would add one in the ninth but couldn’t tie it and fell to 7-2 in conference play.
When asked about the sweep after the game, senior outfielder Kyle Sherman said that getting back into the groove of things is a must.
“Baseball is full of ups and downs; some days everything goes your way and some the opposite,” said Sherman. “We are looking forward past this series and focusing on the next opponent. We are a solid team, now we just need to put it all together like we did earlier in this season.”
To break out of this losing stretch, the Blue Devils need to dig deep and find the magic they had at the start of the season.
“We’re in a pretty deep funk obviously and we haven’t been able to put together a complete and total effort,” said Kelly. “I think it’s best that we get back to doing what we do best. We have to put this weekend behind us and get back to executing our game.”
The Blue Devils will have to keep their word as the schedule doesn’t get any easier. As the season starts to end, these upcoming conference games will be super important to the Blue Devils if they want to make the playoffs again this season.
“These losses are tough but they don’t define us. We have come a long way as a team and we still have a lot to give,” said Kelly.
The Blue Devils are back in action in the SUNYACs this week, with a doubleheader away at Bethany College to end the week on Saturday.