ITHACA, N.Y. – In its final tune-ups before the 2013 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Baseball Championship Tournament, the State University of New York at New Paltz baseball team (16-17) was swept by No. 18 Ithaca College (29-6) in Saturday's non-conference doubleheader at Freeman Field. The Hawks fell, 3-2, in game one before dropping a 6-1 decision in the nightcap.
 
The Hawks got on the scoreboard first in the opener, picking up a run in their first at bat. Senior center fielder Matt Carr (Westbury, N.Y./Long Island Lutheran) and junior second baseman Kenny Gentile (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) each reached base on errors, which led to runners standing on first and third without an out. Senior left fielder Anthony Repetto (North Babylon, N.Y./North Babylon) followed by grounding into a double play, but Carr managed to score to give the Hawks a quick lead.
 
Ithaca bounced back with a run in the third when second baseman Tim Henry reached base on an error that allowed right fielder Christian Brown to score and tie the game. The Bombers scored again in the fifth on center fielder Luke Stark's RBI single, and then one more time in the sixth on designated hitter Vinnie Gneo's single that scored Henry to give the Bombers a 3-1 edge.
 
The Hawks chipped away at the lead in the seventh on sophomore right fielder Richard Guido's (Ulster Park, N.Y./Kingston) RBI double to right center, but the Hawks were unable to take advantage of runners on second and third, finishing the inning down 3-2, which proved to be the final score.
 
Junior pitcher Mike Pastorino (Stormville, N.Y./John Jay) suffered the loss in his first start of the season despite a solid outing. He tossed seven innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on 11 hits. John Prendergast earned the win for Ithaca after throwing eight innings and yielding two runs (one earned), while David Jasukonis picked up the save with a scoreless ninth frame.
 
Junior designated hitter David Lostaglio (Milton, N.Y./Marlboro Central), senior third baseman Matt Prescia (Oakdale, N.Y./Connetquot) and junior shortstop Steven Morse (East Northport, N.Y./Commack) each went 2-for-4 in the loss. Guido batted 1-for-3 and knocked in the only RBI.
 
Stark led the Bombers with a 2-for-3 effort that included an RBI. Brown and shortstop Tim Locastro each went 2-for-4, while Gneo hit 1-for-3 with an RBI.
 
The Bombers scored two runs in the bottom of the first to kick off game two with an early advantage. Brown led off with a double on the first pitch he saw, and then Locastro singled to put runners on the corners. Henry followed with an RBI groundout to get Ithaca on the board. Later in the inning, Locastro scored from third after designated hitter Max Addy drew a throw and stole second base.
 
The Hawks picked up their only run of the game in the third on Lostaglio's two-out RBI single that plated Repetto. The Bombers went on to score four runs in the bottom half of the inning to put the Hawks away.
 
Senior pitcher John Schmidt (East Islip, N.Y./East Islip) shouldered loss in his first start of the season, allowing six runs on eight hits in three innings of work. Ithaca starter Jimmy Wagner allowed just one run across six innings en route to his eighth win of the year.
 
Senior first baseman Thomas Pinnola (North Babylon, N.Y./North Babylon), Repetto and Guido each hit 2-for-3 in Saturday's finale. Lostaglio went 1-for-2 and knocked in the only Hawk run of the game.
 
Henry went 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI in game two, while Locastro scored two runs in a 2-for-3 effort. Addy and Brown each picked up two hits as well in the win.
 
Second-seeded New Paltz is set to take on No. 3 SUNY Oswego on Friday, May 3, in the opening game of the SUNYAC Tournament, which will be hosted by top-seeded SUNY Cortland. First pitch is slated for 3:30 p.m.