A Quick Look
The SUNY Oneonta baseball team kept their SUNYAC playoff hopes alive with a 12-3 victory over New Platz in the rubber match of their three-game series.
The Inside Story
After a scoreless first inning, Oneonta (16-17, 6-12 SUNYAC) put up five runs on six hits in the top of the second. With runners on second and third, Patrick McGee delivered a two-run single left, scoring Jonathan Lezette and James Zupo. After the Red Dragons loaded the bases David Deberardinis drove in two more runs with a single through the right side. A sacrifice fly by Dominic Lamonica allowed Sean McGlynn to score from third to give Oneonta a 5-0 lead.
The Red Dragons added to their lead in the top of the third on another RBI single by Patrick McGee to score Jonathan Lezette. New Paltz would get on the board in the bottom of the fourth on a David Juechter RBI single to make it 6-1. Oneonta got the run back in the top of the fifth when Mike Graves singled home Patrick McGee to give the Red Dragons a 7-1 advantage.
Both teams exchanged a pair of runs in the sixth. Mickey Mullins led off the top of the sixth for Oneonta with a walk. After he moved into scoring position with a stolen base, David Deberardinis drove him in with a single. Deberardinis would make his way to third with a stolen base and a wild pitch before Jonathan Lezette brought him home with an infield single. In the bottom of the inning, the Hawks scored their runs on RBI's from David Juechter and Julian Francisco to make the score 9-3.
In the top of the eighth, Dominic Lamonica belted a two-run home run over the left field fence to give Oneonta a commanding 11-3 lead. With runners on first and second and two out, Patrick McGee drove in his fourth run of the game with a single to left field.
Senior hurler Robert Ottaviano earned his second win in as many days as he allowed one run while striking out eight in five innings of work. Ryan Fay earned his second save of the season after tossing three and two-thirds innings of scoreless relief
Patrick McGee finished the game three hits, four RBI and two runs scored. David Deberardinis chipped in with a 3-for-6 performance with three RBI and a pair of runs scored. Jonathan Lezette went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored. Dominic Lamonica added three hits and three RBI to his resume while Mike Graves and James Zupo and had two hits apiece.
What's Next
The Red Dragons return to action Wednesday, April 24th when they host Wells College on Senior Day at 4:00 p.m.