Centenary Men’s Baseball Team Loses Their First Windy Home Opener Against Ramapo College

Centenary University men’s baseball team challenged Ramapo at our Diamond of Dreams on Wednesday, Feb. 28.

After returning from Lexington, VA with one win and two losses, the Cyclones looked to earn its second win in its home opener against the Roadrunners.

With the crowd rooting for the Cyclones while watching the game on this windy, drizzling afternoon, their big break was about to begin.

“I expect the baseball team to come out with lots of energy,” said Chris Miller, assistant men’s baseball coach, “I think we will win more baseball games this (2024) season.”

“I expect lots of home runs, and hopefully, a win,” said Troy Sumpter, a junior at Centenary.

Although the Cyclones played to the best of their ability during the nine innings of the home game, the Roadrunners constantly outscored them with excellent hitting ability, landing 18 hits. 

Centenary’s key players in this loss included Myles Castillo, Marty Lucibello, and Mike DeSena, who each contributed two hits. DeSena also had two runs batted in as part of this effort.

In the first inning, the Cyclones were only behind the Roadrunners 1-2. The Cyclones never gained the lead as they only scored again in the third, sixth, and eighth innings. 

The Roadrunners ended their first two innings with eight overall runs. The Roadrunners only failed to score during the third, fourth, and ninth innings, giving the Cyclones two chances to take away the victory points.

As a result, the Cyclones lost to the Roadrunners 5-21. By the end of the game, the Cyclones made six hits and three errors. The Roadrunners earned eighteen hits.

Last year, the Cyclones had an overall record of 17-23 and 6-12 in the Atlantic East Conference. This year, the overall record for the Cyclones so far is 1-3.

“We won 17 games last season and we were a game away from the postseason,” said Andrew Romanella, men’s baseball coach.

Despite this loss, the Cyclones are planning to finish strong by the end of the spring season.