The men’s baseball team powered past Maine and Butler as part of a 3-2 performance in the Russ Matt Invitational over spring break starting March 10, before starting off their home season with a tough loss to St. Joseph’s on March 17.

The Bison began their break in Port Charlotte, Fla. with a pair of matches on March 8 against Dartmouth and Illinois State. The team struggled offensively in the first game of the stretch, recording only three hits in an 8-0 loss against Dartmouth, but quickly rebounded with a 13-8 victory against their second opponent.

Continuing their Florida trip, the Orange and Blue traveled to Winter Haven to participate in the Russ Matt Invitational. After a tough 3-9 loss against Bowling Green on March 10, the team bounced back on  March 11 with an 8-5 victory against Maine. Led by strong offensive performances by Joe Ogren ’16 and Brett Smith ’17, the Bison offensive recorded all eight runs of the game within the first three innings. Bolstered by Mike Castellani ’17’s 4.1 innings of relief with only one run allowed, the team was then able to outlast the Bears.

On March 12, the Bison competed in a close, low-scoring match against LIU Brooklyn. While Anthony Gingerelli ’15 and Mike Korchak ’18 contributed a combined seven hits to lead the squad’s offensive charge, the team found themselves unable to convert, leaving a total of twelve runners on base throughout the competition. With a 2-2 tie since the fourth inning, an LIU Brooklyn run on a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning eventually ousted the Orange and Blue.

Fueled by the close loss against LIU Brooklyn, the Bison responded with two strong victories versus Butler on March 13 and 14. In the first game, Bryson Hough ’15 kept Butler’s scoring to a minimum on the mound, allowing just one run in the first six innings of the game. Smith, Gingerelli, Rob Krentzman ’15, and Greg Wasikowski ’15 all had two hits apiece to lead the Orange and Blue offense, but in the end it was Tucker Rekucki ’15 who pulled out the save in the ninth inning at relief to secure the 8-5 victory.

The Orange and Blue struggled early the next day during a rematch against Butler, falling to an early 4-0 deficit. In the fifth inning, Wasikowski was finally able to start the team’s offense with an RBI double, one of his two hits on the day. Korchak’s two run single in the sixth made it a competitive game, followed by three runs for the Bison in the eighth. Jon Mayer ’16’s homerun in the ninth inning completed the 7-5 game for the Bison, along with a strong relief performance from Andrew Andreychik ’16.

The Bison competed in their first home game of the season on March 17 against Saint Joseph’s. The team struggled to convert on offense, leaving 10 men on base throughout the course of the game. A rough pitching day including six walks and three errors with the participation of six pitchers contributed to the eventual 9-2 loss on the day.

The Orange and Blue will host Cornell on March 21–22 for a four-game series, with doubleheaders on both days beginning at noon.