The streak is over.

William Paterson men’s baseball team fell 10-9 to Drew University this afternoon, ending its undefeated streak.

Drew University struggled to make any progress within the first half of the first inning, ending it with only one hit even though they had a man on base. The Pioneers started out tremendously strong with senior Outfielder, Braden Ramirez, moving on first with his first hit. 

With sophomore Ty Kobylakiewicz at bat, the pitcher got distracted by Ramirez thinking he would steal a base, it missed the first baseman’s glove, and Ramirez sprinted away, making it to third. Kobylakiewicz hit the ball deep, allowing Ramirez to run home and bring the ‘Neers their first run of the game.

Continuing their luck, senior Infielder, Tom Radigan, got to walk to first, which filled up the first two bases. With Outfielder Stephen Kubis hitting the ball deep, the two Neers on bases made it home to lengthen the score to 3-0. With the game going their way, the Pioneers hit a double when junior Outfielder Thomas Jova hit a deep ball with the bases loaded. Scoring another run after that, the ‘Neers brought the score deficit to 7-0, and with their lineup restarting, they ended the first inning with a score of 8-0, tallying up 6 hits, and no errors.

Drew struggled to find their footing in the second inning, having their first three batters each strike out immediately. When the ‘Neers went back to bat, they got their men on the bases but were unable to finish out, keeping the score at 8-0. The third inning followed the same pattern, with no new runs scored for either team.

The fourth inning signals a change in the game as Drew begins to fight back. With Drew’s player, Anthony Hernandez at-bat, he hit the ball through third and second base and was able to make it to first. His teammate Frank Master hit the ball and moved to first, which made first and third full. The ‘Neers were struck with confusion when Hernandez stole a base and outran the basemen, to make the score 8-2. The Pioneers didn’t answer back and were unable to make the deficit larger in this inning.

The fifth inning didn’t bring any changes, as neither team made any progress. However, the sixth inning changed the entire game. 

Number eight, Anthony Vallaro for Drew, began at bat, hitting a ball and making it to first. Redsey Klein was next, and he walked, filling the first and second bases. Jack Mocik hit the ball, and now all three bases were loaded. Anthony Diaz Jr. was at bat and hit the ball, which allowed the third baseman to make it home, scoring a run for Drew. The next batter from Drew hit the ball and scored another run, making the score 6-8.

The Pioneers scrambled to stop Drew, even switching pitchers three times, as they continued to load the bases up and eventually scored three more runs, making the score 9-8 to end the first half of the sixth inning.

It began to look better for the Pioneers this inning with First Baseman, Giovanni Aresta, making it to first base. Drew switched pitchers, when junior Infielder Angel Colon stepped up to bat. He bunted the ball to make it to first, however, the ball was caught and he was out, but his teammate, Aresta, made it to second base. The Pioneers lost their chance to even the score when Aresta made it to third but lost his balance, before the third baseman tagged him out, ending their half.

With Drew at bat, the Pioneers knew this was their time to stop them from taking a larger lead, and they were able to do just that, keeping the score at 9-8 at the end of the top half of the seventh inning. The Pioneers, however, were still unable to make a comeback in their chance at the end of the seventh.

Drew continued to force the Pioneers’ hand, causing them to switch pitchers once again. With Anthony Hernandez at-bat, he bunted the ball, and with the two guys on the bases, Drew was able to make the score 10-8. The Pioneers were once again unable to get a man past the second base at the end of the eighth inning, keeping the score at 10-8 for Drew.

Throughout the top half of the ninth inning, Drew did not make any advances in the score, even with two players on first and third base. Senior Outfielder Braden Ramirez for William Paterson made it to second base after he hit a deep ball. His teammate Kobylakiewicz also hit a deep ball, allowing Ramirez to score a run and Kobylakiewicz to get onto first base.

With the score at 10-9, the Pioneers needed to stay calm and load the bases, which they did, but Stephen Kubis hit a high ball and it was caught leaving them with 2 outs. Unfortunately, junior Infielder, Jordan Brown, hit a deep ball, and with a miraculous save from a Drew Outfielder, the game ended with the Neers just falling short at 9 runs to Drew’s 10.

The Pioneers lost their undefeated streak at the beginning of the season. Their record now stands at 4-1. They will play the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, March 5.