Baseball runs home with 9-5 victory against Iona

In a weekend that was shortened to two games, the men’s baseball team delivered a 9-5 victory over Iona on Feb. 23, its first win of the season. The Bison suffered a 1-0 extra-inning loss to Delaware State the previous day. Both games were played in Dover, Del.

“From today, we showed what is necessary for our team to do on an in and out basis every day in order to play at our full potential. Staying focused for nine full innings is essential in every game,” Joe Ogren ’16 said.

Corey Furman ’14 shined against Iona after producing two doubles that led to three RBIs. Sam Clark ’17 hit a two-out RBI single to initiate the scoring for the Bison in the first inning. The Orange and Blue followed up with four more runs in the second to extend their lead, but the Gaels stayed close behind by answering with three runs of their own.

“Our win against Iona was the first time all year we put it together as a team. Our pitching did a great job throwing strikes, we played solid defense, and we hit the ball well in critical situations,” Furman said. “If we continue to do these small things right, we will have a lot of success moving forward.”

Andrew Andreychik ’16 earned the start, striking out eight batters in five innings of work in addition to retiring the last 10 batters he faced, while Xavier Hammond ’15 provided the relief and grabbed his second career save.

The scoring resumed in the eighth inning when Iona committed three errors that led to four unearned runs. Justin Meier ’14 and Furman knocked in a combined three runs before Hammond closed out the day by allowing only one earned run. Alex O’Neill ’15, Brett Smith’17, and Ogren padded the lead with an RBI apiece.

“We hope to continue competing at a high level. We talked as a team after the game Saturday and really wanted to focus against Iona Sunday, which we did and I think going into future games we’re going to keep that focus,” Andreychik said.

Before this win, the Bison were involved in a tightly contested game with Delaware State. The Orange and Blue loaded the bases in the first inning, but a double play and a line out halted the run.

Ogren and Clark registered the only hits for the Bison. Bryson Hough ’15 pitched seven innings, striking out three and surrendering six hits. The Hornets scored the deciding run in the bottom of the 10th inning.

The Bison will play their first home series of the season this weekend when they battle Niagara in Depew Field starting tomorrow. The teams will play two doubleheaders that both start at noon.

“We are looking forward to a week of hard work and preparation for next weekend against Niagara,” Ogren said. “It feels good to get the first win out of the way and we all believe that it is time for our team to catch fire and bring home many more victories.”