NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz baseball team pounded out 15 hits and two grand slams to soar to a 13-3 victory over State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) foe SUNY Plattsburgh on Friday afternoon.
 
The Hawks improve to 9-5-2, 3-1 SUNYAC while Plattsburgh falls to 2-16, 0-4 SUNYAC with the loss. The teams will conclude the three-game series tomorrow in a twinbill at 12 p.m.
 
The Cardinals grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first inning but the Hawks cut the score to 2-1 as senior third basemanAndrew DiNardo (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./John Jay-East Fishkill) scored on a fielder's choice in the bottom of the second. With the bases loaded, sophomore right fielder Nick DePietro (Carmel, N.Y./Carmel) stepped up to the plate and ripped a home run to left field to bring in four runs for a 5-2 margin.
 
Plattsburgh trimmed the deficit to 5-3 in the top of the third as junior second baseman/shortstop T.J. Montalbano hit an RBI single up the middle but the Hawks came back in the bottom of the inning when junior left fielder Taylor Anderson (East New Market, Md./Cambridge-South Dorchester) hit New Paltz's second home run of the game to bring in four runs and hand the Hawks a 9-3 advantage.
 
For the rest of the game, New Paltz did not allow Plattsburgh to score another run but added insurance in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings to take home the win. 
 
Anderson went 3-for-4 at the plate with two runs and six RBIs while DePietro went 2-for-6 with four RBIs. DiNardo and senior first baseman Chris Baltera (Commack, N.Y./Commack) added two hits for the offense with seven New Paltz players collecting one run apiece.
 
Junior catcher Trevor Markey went 2-for-4 at the plate with one RBI. Montalbano and junior left fielder Billy Rombauts also tallied an RBI in the loss while junior right fielder Adam Calabro scored two of Plattsburgh's three runs.
 
Sophomore pitcher Conor Donachie (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) picked up the win to improve to 3-1 on the season. The right-hander gave up three runs off four hits while walking three batters and striking out one. Sophomore pitcher Korie Hutchins took the loss, allowing 11 runs off 10 hits and struck out six batters.