The Iona College baseball team has had a qrough start to the season, currently sitting with a 2-7 record and allowed five or more runs in all the games played.

The Gaels gave up a season high 21 runs in the loss to North Carolina Central on March 2. It was the third time Iona allowed an opponent to score double- digit runs in a game.

Iona is still in the early stages of the season, but one of the reasons why the Gaels are struggling is due to limited production from their big time offensive players.

Junior infielder Sean Breen, who tallied two hits in his first three games, is beginning to get in the groove. He has since collected five hits in the last five games, including one triple and one home run.

Breen’s batting average seems to be skewed, as in the last five games he has had only one game where he had less than four at-bats.

However, there have been players, specifically senior infielders Sean Scales and Lou Matarazzo, , who have been roping the ball since the season started.

Matarazzo has seen both time on the mound and in the batter’s box. He is currently riding a seven-game hitting streak, which has led to an early-season batting average of .296.

Scales is seeing the baseball as if it’s as large as a beach ball. He has had four multi-hit games, leading to his incredibly high .484 batting average. Scales also has shown plate discipline, racking up four walks.

The Gaels have also seen some dominant performances on the mound from senior Joe DeRosa as well.

The 6-foot-6 right-hander has pitched exceptionally well, starting in three games and allowing four earned runs in 18.1 innings pitched.

DeRosa hasd recorded 13 strikeouts and a 3.60 ERA so far. He is sharper than last year, when he struck out 38 batters in 67.1 innings pitched last year.

DeRosa’s early season success can be highlighted by his gem of a start against Norfolk State on Feb. 24. He went 7.1 innings pitched with eight strikeouts and zero earned runs.

However, the Gaels have been unable to play a clean game, which has led to a lot of unearned runs. In their eight games, the team has collected 19 errors.

The team will look to work through their early-season issues and try to turn things around as the season progresses and the weather gets warmer.

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