PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. - The Plattsburgh State baseball team won the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) series opener over New Paltz on Friday afternoon, winning by a score of 7-5. The Cards hit well throughout the day with runners on, led by Conner Gonzalski (Cicero, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) who had two hits and drove in four runs.

Sean Malamud (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan E. Wagner) was strong on the mound for Plattsburgh, battling through 7.2 innings before giving way to the bullpen. He earned the win, struck out seven, and allowed four earned runs while scattering nine hits. Kyle Cremin (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Kennedy Catholic) and Christian Ott (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) each had a hit and an RBI, while Alex Kornblau (Pound Ridge, N.Y./Fox Lane) scored two runs, had a hit, and walked twice. Jack Defayette (Rotterdam, N.Y./Schalmont) also had an RBI and walked twice over four plate appearances, as Andrew Veit (Yaphank, N.Y./Bellport) had a base-hit and a two-out save out of the bullpen for Plattsburgh. 

The Cardinals rise to 7-14 (1-6 SUNYAC) and will look for the series win in tomorrow's doubleheader with New Paltz at noon, who fell to 7-16 (0-10 SUNYAC) on the year. The doubleheader will consist of two scheduled nine-inning games, a change from last year's format of one seven-inning game and one nine-inning game doubleheader. 

The Cards struck first in the series opener, as they tagged the Hawk's starter Billy Moeller for three first-inning runs. Nick Cergol (Mount Sinai, N.Y./Mount Sinai) started the game with a single down the left field line and Kornblau followed with a single through the left side. After a pop-up and walk to Ott, Gonzalski lined a double to the right-center gap, plating two runs and giving the Cards the first lead of the day. Defayette followed with an RBI groundout, putting three up on the board for Plattsburgh State in the first. 

Plattsburgh remained up 3-0 until the top of the fifth inning when the New Paltz bats got going and scored three runs to tie the game. A Cremin single up the middle in the following half-inning gave Plattsburgh the lead right back, but an infield hit in the following frame tied the score once again, this time at four runs apiece after five and a half innings of play. 

After a 1-2-3 top of the seventh from Malamud, the Cardinal bats once again put together a three-run inning, this time to take the lead for good. A fielder's choice and Cremin walk put two on for Ott, who smoked a ball past the shortstop and into left field for an RBI single to give Plattsburgh the lead. After a wild pitch, Gonzalski followed with a single to right center, plating both Cremin and Ott to give the Cards a three-run cushion and Gonzalski four RBIs on the day.

With the tying run at the plate in the eighth inning, Chris Santic (Stony Point, N.Y./North Rockland) entered the game and induced an inning-ending groundout to get out of the jam. After a scoreless eighth from Plattsburgh, the Hawks began to threaten in the ninth, putting the tying run on base with one out, forcing the Cards to turn to Veit out of the bullpen for just the second time this season. The senior came through, trading a run for an out by inducing a sacrifice fly, and then forced a New Paltz pinch-hitter to fly out to end the ballgame, earning his first save of the season and fourth of his career. 

For New Paltz, Connor Olson took the loss on the mound, after going just .1 innings and giving up three runs. Justin Ortiz had two hits, two runs, two RBI, and two walks out of the lead-off spot, while Christopher Sais had two hits and two RBI for the Hawks.