QUINTIN JAMES
Staff Writer
Coming back from Florida was very bittersweet for the Fredonia men’s baseball team. On one hand, the Blue Devils started the tournament out by losing two straight games, but won their next five. On the other hand, they ended the tournament getting swept by conference opponent Oswego in a three-game set.
While they enjoyed the beautiful warm weather in Florida, they had to travel back to Fredonia where the weather — and their performance — was not as hot as they would’ve hoped.
Fredonia had to regroup from Florida as they started a three-game set with rival Cortland and early in the season, it was a chance to see where the team was headed this year. The weather could’ve been a factor, but the Blue Devils’ slump continued throughout the first weekend back from Florida.
The first game of the week saw Fredonia fail to recover after a slow start. They dropped the first game 5-2. Cortland jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two innings as they got to senior pitcher Jake Harford early. He started the game by walking the first two batters, which led to a run in the first. Though he settled down after the second inning, going seven innings and only allowing three runs, the offense couldn’t get started.
Fredonia responded in the bottom of the third with two runs on their own from RBI singles from seniors Liam Kelly and Ciro Frontale. Cortland switched pitchers and reliever Mike Harrington pitched 6 2-3 innings of shout out relief as the offense couldn’t find an answer after the change. The Blue Devils and Cortland would finish their series on a neutral side but the results stayed the same.
The second game of the series was complete domination by Cortland, as they showed why they are currently the No. 2 DIII school in baseball with a 14-0 thrashing of the Blue Devils. The Blue Devils committed six errors and only mustered up three hits, as starter Michael Wilcox allowed six runs in only one inning of work. The Blue Devils seemed to come out a bit flat in Game 1 as the offense disappeared and Cortland rolled to their second consecutive win against Fredonia.
In the final game of the series, Fredonia again would allow Cortland to get out to an early lead. Sophomore pitcher Ben Atkinson went 3 1-3 innings allowing seven runs on 11 hits with two hit batters. The score was 8-0 before Fredonia even had a chance to wake up. Senior Lucas Schafer entered in relief and pitched 5 2-3 innings and allowed three runs on six hits, but the offense could only get three runs against the powerhouse Cortland team.
Fredonia would get on the scoreboard in the fifth inning when Ciro Frontale’s RBI single drove in freshman Christian Rizzolo to make it 8-1. The Blue Devils would score one run in the sixth and eight innings, but Cortland would score three in the ninth to foil any Fredonia comeback attempts.
Coming from the warm weather of Florida, the Blue Devils offense stalled out back home in Fredonia where it was unusually cold in mid-March. While players understand that it affects the game, they wouldn’t blame it on the struggles.
“The colder weather does alter the gameplay a little bit, but you can’t let it be a distraction. Both teams are playing in the same conditions with the same ball so it can’t be seen as an excuse. The team that lets factors like that distract them places a disadvantage on their play,” said Kelly.
Coach Matt Palisin explained that the team isn’t in a funk but had been facing a tough schedule.
“We played two top DIII teams and both of our opponents’ pitchers did a great job against us. Before that we were on a five game winning streak and four of them were come from behind victories,” said Palisin.
Junior Steve Zaprowski added that it’s just a matter of preparation.
“We played two tough SUNYAC teams. The cold weather affects the game in both good and bad ways but we just have to prepare better for the elements,” he said.
With Fredonia being off a week before its series with Oneonta, the team needs to get focused again. Kelly believes that the week off will benefit the team.
“To break the cold streak, I just think we need to have a good week of practice and go into the weekend in Oneonta with a high level of focus. If we play our game for the entire weekend we will be in a good spot,” said Kelly.
Palisin added that this week will be all about focusing on Oneonta. They will look to drive the ball more for extra base hits as the Blue Devils recently have been hitting the ball well, but not far. This team is full of experienced upperclassmen who have been here before. The coaches and staff preach a “take it one game at a time” mentality, and the players have bought into that.
Zaprowski had the same mindset when asked about the slump.
“We have to have a good approach to each game. Our pitching has been good but we need to score more hits and hit a little better with RISP,” he said.
He also added that there are many good players on the team and that it will take a team effort to break the losing streak.