While the rest of the students at William Paterson were on spring break in snowy New Jersey, the Pioneer baseball and softball teams made their annual pilgrimage to sunny Florida for a week of competition against teams from around the nation.

The baseball team played nine games at the Russmatt Central Florida Invitational, going 3-6 and collecting wins against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and St. Norbet College in the second game of a double-header.

The biggest win of the week for the Pioneers, however, came against the No. 7 team in the nation, University Wisconsin-La Crosse. Down 4-3 in the top of the eighth inning, junior catcher Jorge Solodkin recorded one of his two RBIs on the afternoon when he lined a base hit up the middle that brought freshman third baseman Carlos Perez home to tie the game. After a single from senior center fielder Mike Abate loaded the bases, senior left fielder Mike Rowe drove in the winning run on a sac fly.

Junior pitcher Adam Miller got the win in relief after taking over for for junior starting pitcher Mario Danza.  Miller (1-0) struck out two batters while scattering five hits and surrendering one unearned run. Solodkin, Perez, senior first baseman Eriq Colon and junior right fielder Anthony Hoagland each had two hits, with Colon driving in a run as well.

Abate earned Pioneer of the Week honor for his great performance throughout the week, hitting .444 with two doubles, two home runs, seven RBIs and four runs scored.

Pioneers head coach Mike Lauterhahn recorded his 200th career victory, all at William Paterson University, in Friday’s win over RPI.

The Pioneers return home with a overall mark of 6-6-1

The Pioneers softball team opened their season in Kissimmee, Florida at the Rebel Spring games, winning six of their 12 games.

After losing their opening game to Rhodes College, 4-3, the Pioneers won three straight games, starting with a 3-2 win against Muskingum University in the second leg of a double-header following their first loss. Sophomore third baseman Karley Jo Greulich won the game on a seventh-inning base hit, while freshman pinch hitter Amanda Clark drove in two runs on one hit. Senior right fielder, Nicole Freyer recorded three hits and scored a run.

The following day, the Pioneers took both games of a doubleheader with a 3-2 win against Plattsburgh State and 3-0 win against Wheaton College. Senior first baseman Salina Pellios and sophomore left fielder Christine Griffith each had RBIs on consecutive hits against Plattsburgh State, while Fryer had two hits and freshman designated player Vanessa Archibold recorded one hit.

Against Wheaton College, senior Allison Podmajersky struck out five batters en route to throwing a complete game two-hitter.

Offensively, Archibold and junior left fielder Kara Molnar were major contributors.  Each had two hits and scored a run, while Archibold added three stolen bases. Greulich also recorded three hits and also scored a run for the Pioneers.

The other three wins for the Pioneers came against Carroll University, SUNY Cortland and the College of St. Scholastica.

The Pioneer baseball team resumes play this Saturday, March 25 in a 3:30 p.m. start against the College of Staten Island at Jeff Albies Field, while the softball team has to wait until Tuesday, March 28 when they hit the road to take on Manhattanville College at 3:00 p.m.