While snow is still looming, spring is nearly in the air.
As some of Ramapo's winter sports teams close out their seasons, the spring squads are waiting to kick off the year. While most Ramapo students will take the trek home for spring break in a little over a week, many student-athletes will travel to get their first taste of competition for the season.
Here's a look ahead at some of Ramapo's spring sports teams.
Baseball
The bar is set high for the baseball team after finishing last year at 35-15.
Ramapo made deep runs in two postseason tournaments, but both were cut off by a potent adversary. New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) rival Kean University twice thwarted Ramapo's title efforts, emerging victorious over the Roadrunners in the NJAC Championship and NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship.
An early preseason poll conducted by D3baseball.com ranked Ramapo at No. 17. The Roadrunners started their season on a high note, topping Centenary College in both games of a doubleheader on Feb. 16. Two other scheduled games on Feb. 17 were canceled.
Seniors P.J. Cerretto, who posted a 2.77 ERA and 10.25 strikeouts per nine innings last year, and Travis Zilg, who registered a 2.66 ERA, will lead Ramapo's pitching staff. On the offensive side, senior Dave Jacob looks to build off a strong season that saw the outfielder hit .421 with a .508 on-base percentage.
Key Player to Watch: Christian Spurr (infielder) – The senior is 65 hits away from setting the school's all-time hit record. Spurr, one of the team's three captains, notched a career-high 64 hits last season.
Softball
Ramapo's softball program has recorded a winning percentage over .500 in every season since 1998, etching out 25 victories in each of the past 11 seasons.
A new leader will look to generate those same results in 2013. Ish Falcon, who served as an assistant coach at Ramapo for the last three years, will take over as the head coach.
After leading Ramapo with 13 doubles last year, Tiffany Fischer will make the move from the batter's box to the dugout as an assistant coach.
The Roadrunners went 26-13 last year, falling short against Montclair State University and The College of New Jersey during the NJAC tournament.
Its rotation will take a major blow by losing Lauren Shaw, who logged 150 of the team's 258.2 innings pitched with a 1.54 ERA. Juniors Nicole Schneider and Harley Masiello will be tasked with picking up the workload.
Ramapo will travel to Clermont, Fla. on March 16 to play 10 games before playing its home opener against TCNJ on March 29.
Key Player to Watch: Jaclyn Lima (outfielder) – The freshman hit .336 with 26 stolen bases during her rookie campaign.
Men's Tennis
Riding an 11-game winning streak into the new season has the Roadrunners' sights set on a big year.
The men's tennis team will head to Hilton Head, S.C. to play four matches from March 18-22. If they win during that competition, they will return home on their March 27 home opener having gone a full calendar year without losing.
Under Raza Baig's watch, the Roadrunners are 19-4 in two seasons and Baig will look to keep serving up victories during his third season as head coach.
One of their top contributors, Peter Gramlich, graduated after going 10-1 in singles play last year. His doubles partner, Matt Giuliari, represents the only senior on the roster. As a team, he and Gramlich won eight of nine matches last season.
Key Player to Watch: Jacob Khodakov – The sophomore could morph into one of the squad's stars after registering a 10-3 record in singles during his freshman year.
agould1@ramapo.edu
