Rams look to reset after a tough start to conference play

By Justin Porrino

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FARMINGDALE, N.Y - The Farmingdale State College Baseball team picked up a win in a nail-biter 3-2 victory over Rutgers-Camden last Tuesday, April 7. It is possible that this win serves as a catalyst for the slow starting season that the Rams have struggled with so far. With a long stretch of Skyline Conference to play ahead, the team does not have much time to waste.

The Rams entered this midweek game against Rutgers-Camden after a weekend of being swept in back-to-back series vs Mount St Vincent and Manhattanville, both Skyline Conference teams. Between the four losses, the Rams gave up an average of ten runs per game, meaning the current primary concern for the Rams is their pitching staff. While this game against Rutgers-Camden did not count directly toward the conference standings, the result was a much-needed confidence boost for the Rams.

The Rams got off to a hot start against Camden as Ryan Wasserman reached base in the first inning and Dom LaFroscia the transfer from St Joe’s drove him in with an RBI single to center field. The offense then slowed down for a few innings while senior pitcher Tyler Cox shut down the Camden team on the mound. In the fifth inning, the Rams offense would spark again as Mike Kocovic would triple and then be brought in on an RBI groundball from Richie Heyder, putting the Rams up 2-0.

This would not be the end of the Rams offensive surge as only two innings later in the seventh Heyder would triple scoring, Ryan Wasserman to put the Rams up 3-0. Camden did not go away without an answer, and they made things interesting scoring a pair of runs in the 8th, bringing the game to 3-2 with an inning left to play. Senior pitcher and previous regional selection Derek Watts would get the save for the Rams, shutting down Camden in the 9^th to secure the win.  

Through the first eighteen games of the season, the Rams have had a few standout players that have helped them to their .500 record. Richie Heyder has been the engine of the Rams offense all season. The senior outfielder is hitting .462 on the season with a .769 slugging percentage and is second in all Long Island college baseball with a 1.380 OPS.

Another player that has been a factor in the Rams' success is TJ Cox. Over the past week Cox has broken out throwing nine innings while only giving up one earned run. After his stellar week of play Cox was named Skyline Conference Pitcher of the Week.

Overall, Farmingdale sits 9-9 on the season after the weekend. With a 2-4 conference record and plenty of games remaining, the team still has the opportunity to turn this season around. The win over Rutgers-Camden was one that has given the Rams some momentum already as they went into this weekend and swept previous third place team Mt St Mary’s. Coming up the Rams have some of their toughest opponents of the season including St Josephs LI, Maritime, and USMMA. These games will be great tells of if the Rams can repeat their championship run last season.