ONEONTA, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz baseball team dropped a pair of State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) and Catskill Cup games to SUNY Oneonta on Saturday afternoon, falling, 5-4, in 11 innings in game one before dropping a 1-0 decision in game two.
 
Despite the losses, New Paltz leads Oneonta, 19-18, in the 2015-16 Catskill Cup standings.
 
The Hawks fall to 15-11-2, 7-7 SUNYAC while the Red Dragons improve to 5-20, 3-7 SUNYAC. The teams will conclude the series tomorrow with a single game set for 12 p.m.
 
Game 1: New Paltz 4, Oneonta 5
 
Sophomore right fielder Nick DePietro (Carmel, N.Y./Carmel) and sophomore center fielder Jake Williams (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) each produced a single to lead off the top of the first before the Hawks loaded the bases when senior third baseman Andrew DiNardo (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./John Jay-East Fishkill) was hit by a pitch.
 
DePietro was then brought in on an Oneonta passed ball to put the Hawks up, 1-0, before senior catcher Tyler Bell(West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) knocked a sacrifice fly to center field to drive in Williams to make it a 2-0 game.
 
The Red Dragons cut the score to 2-1 in the bottom of the second as junior center fielder Sage Cheren drove in senior first baseman Dylan Stamile on a double, but the Hawks increased their lead to 3-1 in the top of the fifth when Williams produced a single to bring home freshman shortstop Ryan Frost (Beacon, N.Y./Beacon).
 
In the bottom of the sixth, Oneonta added another run when sophomore designated hitter Donald Geloso scored on a wild pitch, slicing the deficit to 3-2, but DiNardo doubled in the top of the seventh to drive in DePietro, handing the Hawks a 4-2 edge.
 
Oneonta managed to load the bases in the home half of the ninth before Geloso singled, driving in two runs to tie up the score and send the game into extra innings. Although neither team could find its footing in the 10^th inning, the Red Dragons sealed the win in the bottom of the 11th when senior pinch hitter/second baseman Matt Mastroianni plated an RBI double to provide final 5-4 tally.
 
DePietro went 2-for-4 at the plate and produced two runs while Williams turned in one run and one RBI while going 2-for-5 at the plate. Frost and DiNardo both went 1-for-4 for the Hawks.
 
Four Red Dragons posted multi-hit outings, with senior shortstop Joe Franke turning in a 2-for-2 performance that included two runs while Geloso went 2-for-4 with one run and two RBIs.
 
Sophomore pitcher Luke Christy (New York City, N.Y./NYC Lab High School for Collaborative Studies) took the loss, giving up one run off three hits while striking out three batters in 1 2/3 innings. Senior pitcher Erik Johansen did not give up a run or a hit off the three batters he faced in relief to earn the win for Oneonta.
 
Game 2: New Paltz 0, Oneonta 1
 
The Red Dragons scored their lone run of the game in the bottom of the second as sophomore third baseman Brandon Torres reached home on fielder's choice. Oneonta did not allow a hit or a run for the rest of the game to seal the 1-0 victory.

New Paltz scattered five hits across seven innings while the Red Dragons were limited to one hit. DePietro was 2-for-3 at bat while Williams, Bell, and sophomore catcher Tyler Laco (Commack, N.Y./Commack) each collected a hit for New Paltz. Freshman pitcher Justin Stybel (Bellmore, N.Y./John F. Kennedy) struck out four batters and permitted one run off one hit in the loss.

Torres was 1-for-2 at the plate with one run to key the Oneonta offense. Sophomore pitcher Nicholas Ponesse picked up the win, surrendering four hits with one strikeout and one walk in four innings of work while Johansen earned the save, allowing just one hit in the three innings he pitched.