The Oratory Prep baseball team has gotten off to a shaky start as the regular season has begun. The Rams battled hard in both of their first two games of the season, but they let both of their leads slip away. The Rams were 0-4 and in a slump when they faced last season’s Union County finalist Dayton. Prior to this game, the Rams suffered a heartbreaking loss to Linden, who threw their ace Danny Ciprian, a St. John’s commit. Coach Blauner would give the boys a heartfelt pep talk, in which it motivated the Rams heavily before this crucial conference matchup. After a strong performance against Union the week before, Robbie Costello would take the mound for the Rams. Costello would pitch four innings — allowing three runs and finishing with a strikeout — resulting in a shift in energy from the entire team. Following Costello’s departure, sophomore Ben Gaffney would get his first varsity hit and steal a bag, putting a runner in scoring position with the score 3-0. With Sophomore Joe Loiacono at bat, Gaffney would be able to take third base due to a passed ball. In the top of the fifth inning, Loiacono would put the ball in play and get an RBI to put his team on the board. Kevin Parker would then take the ball and turn a nice 1-2-3 double play to get the Rams out of a jam in the bottom of the fifth. Junior MJ Cohen would get out of trouble after walking the Bulldogs’ leadoff hitter by finishing his outing with an impressive strikeout, putting his team in position to come back. Junior Noah Falcon would battle a four pitch walk in the top of the seventh, bringing up Gaffney with a man on. Gaffney continued to impress with another single up the middle, putting runners in scoring position for the top of the order. Loiacono was then hit with the first pitch seen from the Bulldogs’ new wing, loading the bases for Captain Robbie Costello. In his at bat, Costello would come from behind to draw a crucial walk, drive in a run, and set the stage for varsity veteran, Senior Anthony Bibbo to try to do some damage. Bibbo would hit the ball down the line past the diving first baseman in a nine-pitch at bat, clearing the bases and putting the Rams up 5-3. This would help Bibbo continue to leave his mark on Union County, as he would record his 11th RBI this early in the season. In a hard-fought game, senior Matt Seelagy would close the door for the Rams, earning the save and the victory for his team.