After winning eight of their 12 spring training games in Florida, the men’s baseball team has slumped of late back in the Northeast, losing three straight games at the hands of William Patterson, SUNY-Oneonta, and Montclair State.

On March 25, the Red Hawks traveled to Wayne, NJ to take on the William Patterson Pioneers. William Patterson dominated RPI for most of the game, and it looked like the Red Hawks would fall easily; the Pioneers had a 5-2 lead by the seventh inning, with runs coming in the first, third, fifth, and seventh frames.

The Red Hawks countered with a four-hit comeback in the ninth inning that tied the game at five runs apiece. Matt Ferone, Pat Hughes, Joe Ihnatolya, and Matt Shumsker led the charge for the Red Hawks with four clutch line-drive singles and a stolen base by speedy Hughes.

The grinding stalemate between the two teams did not last long, however, as the Red Hawks’ pitching was not able to contain the roaring Pioneer offense in the bottom of the ninth. William Patterson second baseman Tim Banos led off the inning with a single through the right side, and center fielder Ron Hayward quickly followed with a single of his own.

After pinch hitter Pete Zaccheria sacrificed Banos and Hayward to second and third, RPI relief pitcher Justin Pappas loaded the bases by issuing an intentional walk to shortstop Dan Suarez, who had two hits for the day.

The play came back to bite the Red Hawks as left fielder Michael Bucco delivered the game-winning hit, and RPI fell to William Patterson 6-5.

Ihnatolya led the Red Hawks’ scoring with three hits and two RBI. Hayward led the Pioneers with four hits and two runs scored. Tom Obermeyer suffered his first defeat of the season, and Jake Pravkewitz notched his first win.

On the following Wednesday, the Red Hawks came back to Upstate New York to take on the Red Dragons of Oneonta. The game was tighter than the previous day’s defeat to Montclair, and the Red Dragons led the Red Hawks by only one run after four innings of play. Oneonta added three tack-on runs in the fifth and sixth frames to defeat the Red Hawks 5-3.

Designated hitter Robert Bernstein and centerfielder Chris Brew pulled the Red Dragons to the victory with four RBI and three hits between them. Sophomore first baseman Dan Quinn led the Red Hawks’ batting with two hits and two RBI.

RPI pitcher Max Miller suffered his first loss of the season, and Oneonta starting pitcher Rick Vesely captured his third win.

On Thursday, RPI took on Montclair State at Robison Field on a sunny, clear day for the first home game of the season. Unlike the previous two defeats, the RPI offense never really showed up, and RPI suffered a decisive 9-2 drubbing. RPI starter Brian Brzek lasted only three and 1/3 innings in the loss, surrendering eight hits and four runs. Center fielder Evan Boyd and infielder P.J. Baccarella led the Montclair State offense charge with six hits, six RBI, and three runs scored between them. Hughes led RPI with two hits and two RBI. Jeff Gogal captured his third win of the season, and Brzek had his first defeat.

Two scheduled games on Sunday against RIT and Tuesday against Western New England College were postponed due to inclement weather conditions. Makeup dates for those games have not yet been announced.

The Red Hawks have a relatively comfortable schedule in the next seven days. On Thursday, the team will play host to Mount Saint Mary at Robison Field; first pitch is at 3 pm. The Red Hawks will then travel to Ithaca for a pair of games on Saturday and Sunday; the first game is scheduled for 11 am, and the second will start at 12 pm.