CORTLAND, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz baseball team (16-19, 12-6 SUNYAC) saw its promising season come to an end on Saturday, as the Hawks were defeated for the second time in the 2013 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Baseball Championship Tournament, this time by No. 4 SUNY Fredonia (19-15, 7-11 SUNYAC), by the score of 6-4 at Robert H. Wallace Field.
 
After dropping a 9-5 decision to No. 3 SUNY Oswego yesterday, the Hawks matched up with Fredonia in the losers bracket for the first elimination game of the tournament. The loss eliminates the Hawks, while the Blue Devils move on to face the loser of today's matchup between No. 1 SUNY Cortland and Oswego.
 
The Hawks got the better of Fredonia ace Sean Larson in the first inning. With two runners on, junior designated hitter David Lostaglio blasted his first homerun of the year over the right field wall to put the Hawks up three in the blink of an eye.
 
Senior starting pitcher Chris Chismar (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) got off to a solid start, striking out two and allowing just two hits in the first three innings, but the fourth proved to be costly. Left fielder John Bennett's sacrifice bunt for the first out moved runners to second and third. Third baseman Matt Casilio followed with a single to bring in the first run, and then right fielder Kenny Johnston stroked a two-RBI double to right to tie the game. With two outs, second baseman Conner Lorenzo singled in Johnston from second to give the Blue Devils a 4-3 advantage.
 
Johnston struck again in the fifth frame with an RBI single to increase the Blue Devil edge to two. The Hawks got one back in the home half of the inning when senior center fielder Matt Carr (Westbury, N.Y./Long Island Lutheran) singled in sophomore right fielder Richard Guido (Ulster Park, N.Y./Kingston) from third. Carr advanced as far as third in the inning, but the Hawks were unable to bring him in to tie the game.
 
Lostaglio singled to open the sixth and moved into scoring position on senior third baseman Matt Prescia's (Oakdale, N.Y./Connetquot) sacrifice bunt. Junior shortstop Steven Morse (East Northport, N.Y./Commack) put runners on the corners with an infield single, but Guido grounded out to third to end the Hawk threat.
 
Johnston picked up his fourth RBI of the game in the top of the ninth, this time on a sacrifice fly that gave the Blue Devils a two-run cushion. Junior pitcher Andrew Grann (Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside) got a chance to pinch hit in the ninth for the Hawks, and took advantage with an infield single, and then advanced to second on a throwing error. However, the Hawks were unable to build off the hit and two straight outs ended the game.
 
Chismar shouldered the loss after allowing five runs on nine hits and four walks across 5.2 innings. Larson earned the win after tossing six innings and allowing four runs (three earned) with two strikeouts. Kyle Grey picked up the save with three innings in relief, allowing just one hit in the process.
 
Lostaglio led the Hawks with a 2-for-4 effort that produced three RBI and a run. He finishes the tournament with six RBI on 5-for-8 hitting in the Hawks' two games. Carr put in a strong effort as well, going 2-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base.
 
Johnston batted 2-for-3 with a game-high four RBI for the Blue Devils. First baseman Dillon Lowe went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and a stolen base, while three other Fredonia batters picked up two hits each.
 
The Hawks' season concludes after finishing the regular season with the best conference record in program history at 12-6. There will be many new faces in the Hawks' lineup next year, as ten current student-athletes will be graduating or have exhausted their eligibility.