Ramapo’s baseball team brought home two wins and a loss in their first doubleheader home game of the season. The Roadrunners now stand at 4-2 overall for the season and have not played a New Jersey Athletic Conference game yet.
After the postponement of their game against St. Joseph’s Long Island to March 4, Ramapo took a strong start with a blowout win against St. Joseph’s Long Island, ending with a score of 12-4. The baseball team used their seven run battle in the ninth inning to defeat the Golden Eagles.
The Roadrunners scored first in the fourth inning with two runs, followed by another insurance run in the fifth inning to make the score 3-0. In the fourth inning, senior Weston Baronian got an RBI, letting Matt Lalomia score the first run for Ramapo. Shortly after, Zach Novakowski earned his first homerun of the season in the fifth inning, with a blast over the right field wall for a 2-0 score lead.
The Golden Eagles tied the Roadrunners in the sixth inning with a three-run home run. Despite the scare, in the eighth inning, senior Dominick Ciani hit a double to left center field that drove home two runs. They gained more momentum in the ninth inning when John Higgins homered to left field, driving home Jack Tallent, Novakowski, and Zach Bailey for a 9-3 score.
Lalomia and Robert Klawans reached the base before catcher Jesse Swartout hit a three run homer to left center, extending the lead to 12-3. The Golden Eagles earned their fourth run in the ninth inning on a single home run.
Jack Martin, starting pitcher for the Roadrunners, struck out 10 over seven complete innings. He had four hits on him and gave up three runs in his first win of the season. Reliever Ryan Lasko went in for Martin in the eighth inning and surrendered one hit before being taken out for Jake Depetris. Depetris had two strikeouts and let up one run.
The Roadrunners recorded 11 hits for the game with three home runs, and 11 total RBIs for the game.
Ramapo’s baseball team then split in their first doubleheader at home against Amherst College on Sunday. The Roadrunners won game one with 9-2.
James Pazdera started off pitching for the Roadrunners, sticking with it for six innings and surrendered just one run. He struck out four batters and walked five others. Lasko earned a three inning save while striking out one, walking none and giving up five hits and one run.
Ramapo started off with a strong effort after Bailey drove in the first run, a sac fly ball to center field that led Tallent to earn the first run of the game. In the third inning, Higgins singled to center field and drove Novakowski to score an additional run before Bailey scored on a wild pitch. Lalomia tripled to left center which allowed Higgins to score, earning a 4-0 lead.
Amherst got on the board in the sixth inning with one run before Baronian let in Klawans with an RBI single in the bottom half of the sixth. At the top of the seventh, Amherst’s Ben Smith drove Tyler McCord home with an RBI single.
Ramapo added four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning with Lalomia driving home Bailey with an RBI single. With the bases loaded and one out to go in the inning, Swartout cleared the bases with a double to right center field, meeting Higgins, Lalomia and Kalawans at home plate to make the final score 9-2.
The Roadrunners went on to play Amherst in their second game of the day, losing 11-2 to the Mammoths in the second game.
Nick Danbrowney took the loss on the mound for the Roadrunners. He struck out six, walked four and let four hits in the five innings pitched. Depetris went in for Danbrowney in the sixth, surrendering one hit and two runs, walked four and struck out none.
Depetris pitched for one full inning before being taken out in the eighth for Will Paoli. Paoli had three hits, three runs, walked one and struck out two. Hunter Sabbers acted as a closer for Ramapo, pitching in the ninth with two runs, three hits, struck out none and walked one.
Amherst started off the game with a quick lead after an RBI single to center field by Ryan McIntyr, earning their first run before they added three additional insurance runs in the third inning. Ramapo got on the board in the bottom of the third with a solo homerun from Swartout.
Each team added a run in the seventh before the Mammoths recorded two runs in the eighth and four in the ninth inning for an 11-2 score. In the seventh, Baronian drove in Swartout with a single to left field. Amherst ended the game with 11 hits, 11 runs and one error against Ramapo’s two runs, six hits and one error.
Ramapo’s baseball team will head down to Auburndale, F.L. for the Russ Matt Tournament to play nine games total over the course of spring break.
rbleich@ramapo.edu
Featured photo by Jenna Falkenheim
