Auburndale, Fla. - March 18, 2022 - In an offensive slugfest that featured 42 runs and lasted nearly five hours, the Springfield College baseball team was edged by William Paterson, 22-20, on Friday afternoon.

Springfield dropped its fifth-consecutive outing to fall to 3-9 on the year. Noah Bleakley (Granby, Mass.) hit for the cycle in the game as he went 4-for-4 at the plate with seven RBI and three runs scored. The graduate student connected for a grand slam in the first inning, had a two-run single in the second, cracked a triple in the fourth, and added a RBI double in the fifth. Jack Simonetty (Wappinger Falls, N.Y.) added three hits and scored three times. Springfield drew 20 walks in the contest, including four from Andrew McCarty (Meriden, Conn.).

It was an incredible start to the game for Springfield as it totaled 11 runs in the opening inning on just three hits. The frame was highlighted by Bleakley's grand slam that made it an 11-0 contest. After William Paterson answered with three runs in the bottom half of the inning, Springfield tacked on four more runs in the second off five hits, including a two-run base knock from Bleakley. Simonetty drew a walk with the bases loaded in the third to help the lead balloon to 16-3, but the Pioneers would chip away with three runs in the third.

Springfield would score twice in the fourth and the fifth to push their advantage to 20-7. However, in the fifth, William Paterson needed just five hits to score 12 runs as they clawed their way right back into the contest to make it a one-run game. The Pioneers evened the game up with a run in the seventh and then used a sacrifice fly and run-scoring double in the eighth to complete the comeback.

The Pride will conclude its play in Florida against Worcester State on Saturday.