After rocky start to season, baseball team heats up

Danny Fahey Staff Writer

On April 5, the Vassar baseball team ran onto Prentiss Field to take on local rival SUNY New Paltz. In a game where Vassar appeared to have control in the early innings, the New Paltz Hawks scored at least one run in the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth innings on their way to a 9-4 win. The loss to New Paltz shut off some of the energy that the Brewers had built after a win at Stevens Technical Institute and from taking two out of four games against Liberty League rival Skidmore. After going 1-3 against Clarkson April 8-9, Vassar’s record lies at 4-15 overall and 3-6 in Liberty League play. First-year Head Coach Jon Martin, who had spent the past two years as the Vassar baseball Assistant Head Coach, has led a revival effort through a difficult month with the team going 4-6 since late March.

At first, it seemed as if Vassar meet success in the game against New Paltz. The Brewers jumped out to an early lead, scoring two runs in the first innings. Centerfielder Paul Noonan ’06 started the rally with a one-out walk followed by a triple by first-baseman and pitcher Adam Gallari ’07 that sent Noonan home. Clean-up hitter and starting pitcher Matt Elias ’07 then singled, scoring Gallari giving the Brewers a 2-0 lead that would hold to the fifth inning.

Elias, who had only allowed one hit in his first four innings, met his first trouble on the mound in the fifth when, after a lead-off ground out, the Hawks managed back to back singles. After a successful bunt and a walk, New Paltz had the bases-loaded with two outs. The next batter for the Hawks proceeded to double in the right-center gap clearing the bases and giving New Paltz a 3-2 lead. New Paltz tacked on three more runs in the sixth, two in the seventh, and one in the eighth to build their lead. Vassar added one run in the seventh on a wild pitch that scored Vassar second baseman John Mandel ’07. Mandel is leading Vassar in almost every offensive category including a .392 batting average. Noonan had another run in the ninth on an RBI single by shortstop Marc Ramos ’07.

The loss against New Paltz did not help the Brewers forget the results of a difficult March, which left Vassar without a victory before March 25. This stretch includes Vassar’s spring break trip, which took the team to North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland. Vassar came very close to getting into the win column multiple times in March, with close losses to Arcadia University in Pennsylvania, Lynchburg College in Virginia, Villa Julie College in Maryland, and falling in a double header to SUNY Ithaca 3-2 and 10-8 on March 25.

However, the Brewers luck began to change as March began fading into April. On March 29, Vassar beat the nationally ranked Ducks of Stevens Institute by a score of 3-2. Vassar used five pitchers to hold the Ducks in check, who scattered only eight hits on their way to the win. Mandel got two hits and a walk for the victorious Brewers.

Vassar continued to add wins as Liberty League play began against Skidmore. The weekend after the Stevens Institute win saw Vassar split a double-header at home on Prentiss Field against the Thoroughbreds on Friday, March 31. The Brewers then travelled to Saratoga Springs on Sunday to split another double header with Skidmore, coming out of the weekend 2-2. In the win on Friday, Vassar rode a dominating performance from Bobby Muller ’06 on the mound, who gave up only eight hits and one earned run over 8.1 innings. Dan Orme ’08 then came in to get the last two outs for the save in a 4-3 win. Gallari led Vassar’s offense against Skidmore going five-for-16 on the weekend with two RBI and two runs.

During weekend games in the second week of April against Clarkson, Vassar’s sole victory came behind the arm of starting pitcher Quinn Robinson ’07, who got his first win of the season by pitching a complete seven inning game (double-headers consist of one seven-inning and one nine-inning game), and giving up only two hits and one earned run. Ivan Cedillo ’06 powered the 3-1 win at the plate by going three-for-four with one RBI. Vassar continued its improvement with a 10-9 win over local rival Mount St. Mary’s on April 11. The Brewers will face Liberty League opponent Union on April 15.