Claremont, CA -- The Montclair State baseball team, ranked fourth in Division III, suffered their first loss of the season as they fell to Ithaca College, 5-4 on Monday afternoon.

Senior rightfielder CHRIS BARAN (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) drove in a pair of runs while BRIAN ELLERSON (Bayonne, NJ/Hudson Catholic) extended his hitting streak to 18 games. ADAM CERMINARO (Wall, NJ/Wall) went 2-for-3 for the Red Hawks (3-1), who held a 3-0 lead through seven innings.

Montclair jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning as Baran collected and RBI and the Red Hawks made 2-0 in the fifth as GEORGE BECKER (Bayonne,NJ/Bayonne) drove home TOMMY WARTH (Secaucus, NJ/Secaucus) with a fielder's choice. Baran then made it a three-run MSU lead in the sixth with a sacrifice fly.

But Ithaca would come back with four runs in the eighth inning off starter COREY HAMMAN (Flanders, NJ/Roxbury) to take a 4-3 lead, however, MSU would tie it in the ninth as JOE GIACOMIAZZIO (East Brunswick, NJ/East Brunswick) singled home a run to knot the game at 4-4.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Bombers scored the winning run courtesy of a walk and three base hits.

Hamman pitched 7 2/3 innings allowing five hits a four runs. He struck out seven. Kevin Rakowski (Rockaway, NJ/Morris Hills) took the loss. Rakowski (0-1) surrendered three hits and one run in 2/3 of an inning.