QUINTIN JAMES
Special to The Leader
After starting off the season 8-3 and having a ton of momentum in Florida, the Fredonia men’s baseball team has suddenly lost its momentum and has found itself in a bad losing streak. During this losing streak, the scores haven’t been close.
The defense has been sub-par, the pitching nonexistent, and the bats aren’t as hot as the Florida weather the team was playing in.
Fredonia went 4-4 in the RussMatt Invitational in Florida, but dropped its last four games. Junior baseman Liam Kelly attributes the losses to traveling to both Florida and Cortland, one after the other.
“I think to break the losing streak we needed a little bit of a break from the travel,” said Kelly. “ With this extended weekend and a few home games coming up, it will allow us to settle ourselves a little bit before coming out and playing on our own field, which always gets the blood flowing.”
With important conference games coming up, the feeling in the locker room is that the team will get out of this funk and start playing well again, in hopes of making the playoffs.
“This has been one of the closest teams I have ever played on. From day one our leaders and coaches have preached a family environment. The fact we are so close is a testament to the character of the guys in the locker room,” said Kelly. “It is a lot easier to succeed in an environment where everyone is driven towards a common goal and is on the same page every day, and this team is very well aware of what we need to do to succeed.”
Fredonia vs. Hamilton College
The Blue Devils started off their Florida trip the way they expected: all wins. The first day, they swept a doubleheader against Hamilton College.
In game one, Fredonia made a comeback in the last inning scoring four runs in the top of the seventh inning to win the game 8-4. After taking the lead in the sixth inning on a Patrick Sheehan single, Hamilton tied it in the bottom half. Then in the seventh, Fredonia broke it open.
Senior outfielder Quinn Danahy reached on an error to score the run to put Fredonia ahead and then a two RBI triple by freshman outfielder Kevin Yirinec sealed the game for the Blue Devils.
In game two, the Blue Devils pulled out another close win, this time the score was 3-2.
Starting pitcher senior Carl Wolf got the win, going six innings allowing two runs but keeping the Hamilton offense at bay the whole game. In the fourth inning, the Blue Devils took the lead on a Danahy RBI single and didn’t look back.
Fredonia vs. University of Minnesota Morris
The next day, the Blue Devils faced off against the University of Minnesota Morris. Again, the Blue Devils rallied late for a come-from-behind win. Down 4-1 in the sixth inning, Fredonia scored three runs in the sixth and seventh innings to come back and steal another victory.
Junior Jason Weyman got the win as he pitched four innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and two strikeouts in relief of freshman Josh Koepsell, who was making his first start of his college career. He also went four innings but gave up two runs on five hits and four strikeouts.
Fredonia vs. SUNY Oswego
After that rally, the Blue Devils had to get ready for a three-game set against conference foe SUNY Oswego who was ranked No. 16 in Division III baseball.
Fredonia won the first matchup 8-3 with all runs coming on Saturday before the game was delayed by rain. Senior Zachary Jordan pitched a complete game going nine innings giving up 10 hits, three runs and five strikeouts to improve to 2-1 on the season.
Junior catcher Michael Prentice led the Blue Devils going two for five with four RBIs, while junior baseman Ciro Frontale and senior outfielder/baseman Kyle Sherman had two hits apiece.
Game two was yet another comeback win for the Blue Devils. Sophomore outfielder Steve Zaprowski hit a two out double in the bottom of the night to clinch the victory for the Blue Devils in another thriller. The game was close throughout until the ninth, where Oswego took a 6-4 lead but in the bottom half, Prentice single to cut the lead to one and Zaprowski won it with a two out double that plated two and won the game in stunning fashion.
Kelly led the way going four for five with two RBIs while Zaprowski, in only two at bats went two for two with two RBIs. Junior Lucas Schaefer got the win in relief, going four innings giving up two runs that were unearned and only allowing two hits.
The comeback luck ran out that day as the next day, when the Blue Devils were beat by a large margin of 20-3. This was the worst performance on paper for the Blue Devils this season, as the pitchers combined to allow 20 runs on 16 hits.
Fredonia vs. Union College
After that bad performance the Blue Devils looked to move on against Union College. Instead of bouncing back, the Blue Devils dropped both games in the doubleheader. In game one, the Blue Devils could only muster up three hits as the offense was shut down from the first pitch. Fredonia dropped the game 3-0 as the offense didn’t have the same pop as before.
In game two, the pitching was the problem as the team gave up 17 runs on 20 hits en route to a 17-4 rout. Fredonia was led by Kelly and senior catcher Dan Cecilia who both had two hits.
Fredonia ended its Florida trip by playing Salve Regina College. There was no comeback magic this time as the Blue Devils couldn’t come back, losing 10-1 to finish their 4-4 Florida trip. Danahy was the only bright spot, as he had three hits on the day.
Fredonia vs. SUNY Cortland
The Blue Devils finished the week up by traveling to SUNY Cortland to play the team that knocked them out the playoffs last season. Unfortunately for Fredonia, the results were just like last season: They were swept by Cortland.
The first game of the series was much like the previous games for the Blue Devils. Cortland scored six runs in the second inning that really put the Blue Devils behind and Cortland never looked back winning 10-2. The score was 10-0 before Fredonia score two runs in the ninth to avoid the shutout. Jordon took the loss going six innings, giving up eight runs and four of them were earned.
Games two and three were a part of a doubleheader that, once again, didn’t go the Blue Devils’ way. Cortland took both games easily by scores of 7-1 and 7-2.
The Blue Devils combined for only 11 hits in the doubleheader while Cortland had 12 hits alone in game one.
Now on a seven-game losing streak, and with an 8-10 record, Fredonia needs to get out of this slump.
“We started off hot but have hit a rough patch as of late. We arguably made it through the toughest part of our schedule playing Oswego and Cortland in back to back series,” said Frontale. “Took away positives and negatives to work on, but I have all the confidence in the world with this team. Gritty group of ball players who play for each other.”
When it comes to conference play, he knows how important these games are.
“These are the games that really matter. Conference baseball is the best. The completion is great, the atmosphere is great and the wildest things happen in these games. My personal mindset is to stay loose and have fun playing the game,” said Frontale.
Sophomore outfielder Josh Crocetti has been a pleasant surprise this year as he’s currently batting .385 on the season. After not being a huge part of the team last year, Crocetti said he worked on getting stronger and hitting this offseason. He’s more relaxed at the plate and he says it’s helping him see the ball better.
The season is still young and there is plenty of time to make another run. The team is still very confident in their ability to make the playoffs.
“Our goal every year since I have been here being make the playoffs, catch fire and make a run. Our team this year is very, very close and we have all become great friends,” said Frontale. “Playoffs is expected, and I can speak for our entire team by saying that if we don’t make playoffs, we all will be extremely disappointed. Our team has worked hard all offseason and through the first third of our schedule. Looking forward to playing the rest of the year with this team.”
If they can break this losing streak and start playing the way they did early on in the season, the Blue Devils could be a force to be reckoned with once the end of the season rolls around.