The Iona men’s baseball team has endured a difficult start to the season as they now sit with a record of 0-19 following a loss against Rider with a score of 8-1 on March 27 at New Rochelle City Park.  

The Gaels quickly fell behind Rider out of the gate, surrendering a run in the first inning. Iona was able to tie up the score in the bottom of the first on an RBI by senior Luca Lotito. Rider got two runs in the second and third innings as well as one run in the fourth taking a commanding 6-1 lead heading into the fifth inning.   

Playing from behind has been a major issue for the Gaels this season, as Iona has trailed before the start of the fifth inning in sixteen out of the nineteen games played this season.   

The Gaels’ offense has been abysmal over the course of this extended winless streak. The team is averaging just under two runs per game, leaving their pitchers with the slimmest room for error and putting added pressure on their staff. On the other side, opposing pitchers have an ERA of 1.67 and a WHIP under one.   

 
Senior Jake Field has been one of the few bright spots for Iona this season. He is the only member of the team that has a plus-.300 batting average, while also driving in a team-high seven runs.   

Another contributor as to why Iona has not started the season on the right foot is that they have committed thirty-nine errors throughout nineteen games played. The Gaels’ defense has not been able to help their staff out, a staff that already has a cumulative ERA of 12.68.   

As the Gaels have just completed three games at home, they get set to take the road for the next eight games. Iona will play Stony Brook on March 30 then will matchup against Monmouth for three games from April 1 to April 3. They will then play one game against Fairleigh Dickinson on April 6 before completing their stretch on the road against Canisius from April 8 to April 10.   

Iona will hope that the start of Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference play will lead to more opportunities to pick up their elusive first victory.