After being swept against Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference preseason favorite Canisius, Iona baseball attempted to end their losing streak with a road game against Rutgers.

The Gaels used an RBI triple by freshman Carmine Palummo and a run scoring single from senior Chris Sand to take a lead during the fifth inning.

However, Rutgers plated three runs in the bottom of the frame, giving the Scarlet Knights the lead on their way to a 6-3 win.

After starting the MAAC portion of the season with a 0-6 record, Iona looked to restart their conference season at Niagara.

In a doubleheader to start the series, the Gaels were swept by 7-2 and 4-3 scores. During the first game, Iona went down 3-0 during the first inning and were not able to come back from this early deficit.

The second game of the doubleheader started with a 2-0 lead taken by the Gaels during the first inning on RBI hits from sophomore Matt Hratko and freshman Christian Choman.

The Purple Eagles responded to the early lead obtained by the Maroon & Gold with singular runs in the first and third innings before taking a two run lead in the fifth inning.

In the final game of the series, Iona obtained its first win in the MAAC season with a 13-6 win.

The winning effort came in large part to a strong offensive performance from junior outfielder Joe Torres. Torres had four hits on the day, including four runs scored and three runs batted in.

The junior also had his second home run of the season, a three run shot, in the fifth inning to give the Gaels a six run lead.

Sophomore Jimmy Guiliano also had four hits in the win. Senior Matt Marley registered his first win of the season, pitching 5.1 innings of relief, striking out six batters in the process.

Now with their first conference win, the Gaels returned home to face 2012 College World Series participant Stony Brook.

Iona did take an early lead off of a sacrifice fly by senior Matt Kriss. The Seawolves responded by tying the score in the third inning before taking a 3-1 lead in the fifth inning.

After both sides exchanged runs in the seventh inning, Stony Brook scored seven runs in the ninth inning to take a nine run lead on their way to a 12-3 win.

Following their matchup with the Seawolves, the Gaels returned to action with a conference series against Siena.

In the first game of a doubleheader to start the series, Iona had 16 hits, but were only able to score two runs. Still, they had a lead heading into the ninth inning. But a two-out single from Saints first baseman Vinny Citro tied the game, sending the contest into extra innings.

An 11th inning hit gave Siena a 3-2 lead that would lead the Saints to a win in the first game of the twin bill.

In the second game of the doubleheader, Siena took an early 2-0 lead in the second inning. The Saints scored two further runs in the fifth inning, giving them a 4-0 lead. Iona did score twice in the sixth inning, but it was not enough for the Gaels as they fell 4-2.

The series finale started with an early offensive outburst from the Gaels. Iona scored single runs in the second and third innings to hold a 2-0 lead.

However, Siena came back to take the lead in the fifth inning. The Saints blew open the game in the seventh inning on a bases-clearing triple from senior Larry Balkwill.

Siena went on to win 8-4, completing a sweep of the Gaels.

Although the season has been tough so far, there is still a belief of optimism surrounding the team.

According to junior outfielder Joe Smith, “Honestly the record does not reflect the way we have been playing. We have lost a handful of games late or by one or two runs. But our team is going to battle and compete on every pitch.”

The Gaels will play their next game against Marist on April 20. Their next games at City Park will be on May 16 and 17 against Saint Peter’s.