Plattsburgh State Athletics News: Strong Pitching and Five Homers Power Baseball to Doubleheader Sweep of CCNY

YAPHANK, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State baseball team earned the doubleheader sweep over the City College of New York (CCNY) Beavers on Saturday, as they had two strong starts and hit five home runs over 14 innings. Kolby Mordecki (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) and Chris Santic (Stony Point, N.Y./North Rockland) each went several innings, earning wins to get the Cards off to a great start on their spring trip.

 
First-year Jonathan Beale (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Peter's Boys) homered twice in game one, becoming just the 10th player in program history to homer twice in a single game as he finished 2-3 with two runs scored, 4 RBI, and a walk. First-year Frankie Kowal (Shrub Oak, N.Y./Lakeland) made his collegiate debut and was excellent, as he was 4-5 on the day in two starts, homering and doubling twice, driving in two runs and scoring four times. Alex Kornblau (Pound Ridge, N.Y./Fox Lane) continued to mash the baseball with his third homer of the year as he was 3-7 in two starts and Kyle Cremin (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Kennedy Catholic) was 4-4 in game one, raising his season average to . 478. 
 
Plattsburgh State improves to 5-2 on the season and will head to Farmingdale State for a noon single, nine-inning game tomorrow, March 17. CCNY falls to 2-10 on the season and next travels to Delaware Valley on Wednesday, March 20. 
 
Plattsburgh 9, CCNY 2
 
The Cards jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the second inning and never looked back as they took down the Beavers 9-2 in a game-one win. Mordecki tossed five innings of scoreless baseball, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out seven to earn his first win of the year. Beale homered twice and drove in four runs for his big outing and Cremin was 4-4 with two RBI. Kowal brought in one run and scored three times in a 2-3 game one outing, as he also stole a base.  
 
Plattsburgh got the scoring started thanks to Beale as he stepped to the plate in a scoreless game with two runners on and blasted a three-run shot to left to give the Cards a lead they would not relinquish. Kornblau added another run to the tally with a double to left and then was singled home by Cremin on the next play, putting the Cards up 5-0. In the third, Plattsburgh added another run after a Beaver error, putting the team up 6-0.
 
As Mordecki cruised through five innings, Cremin added to the lead with an RBI single in the top of the sixth. In the bottom of the frame, Justin Sargent (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) made his collegiate debut and quickly nabbed two outs before running into trouble and loading the bases, but Eric Agan (Burnt Hills, N.Y./Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) came in to get the final out of the inning and keep CCNY off the board. 
 
Plattsburgh State added two more runs in the seventh as Kowal and Beale went back-to-back, both homering to right field to put the Cards up 9-0. Ty Nelson (Rosedale, N.Y./Springfield Gardens) made his debut for Plattsburgh in the bottom of the seventh, as the Beavers finally scored, grabbing two runs before Nelson struck out Eric Rank to end the game.
Brandon Paider took the loss for CCNY, giving up six runs over five innings, while Byran Lopez had a hit and RBI for the Beaver offense.
 
Plattsburgh 10, CCNY 2
 
The Cards once again used an early five-run inning to jump out to an early lead over CCNY, as they put up five runs in the first of game two, eventually winning 10-2. Santic tossed six innings of two-run ball, striking out five and walking just one as he earned his second win of the year for Plattsburgh. Aidan Diltz (Monroe, N.Y./Monroe-Woodbury) had three hits for Plattsburgh and drove in two runs, also scoring once and doubling. Kornblau hit his team-leading third homer of the year as he also doubled and scored three times, while Kowal added another two hits, going 2-2 with an RBI, run scored, and double. Joey Di Rocco (Congers, N.Y/Clarkstown South) hit his second career homer in the win, as he drove in three with his first-inning blast.)
 
Ben Catrambone (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) led the second game off with a single, and Kornblau promptly followed with a double to right to put runners on second and third with no outs to start the game. After a strikeout, Adam Wein (North Rockland, N.Y./Don Bosco Prep) flew out to center to bring home Catrambone. In the next at-bat, Brayden Trombley (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Plattsburgh) was hit by a pitch, putting runners on the corners. The Cards then executed a double steal, scoring Kornblau as he stole home. Kowal was then hit by a pitch as well, setting up Di Rocco for his three-run homer to put the Cards up 5-0 after just a half-inning of play. 
 
CCNY responded next, as they rallied to score a run in the bottom of the third on three hits, but Santic worked out a jam to cap the Beaver rally at just one run. 
 
A scoreless fifth set up the sixth for the Cards as they tallied five hits and three runs to pull away from CCNY. Catrambone brought in Jack Defayette (Rotterdam, N.Y./Schalmont) with a sacrifice fly to start the scoring in the frame and Kornblau then homered to left to put the Cards up 7-1 and prompt a pitching change. The homer puts Kornblau at nine for his career, just two behind the all-time program record of 11 set by Pat Shaughnessy. After the pitching change, Diltz and Wein both singled, setting up Kowal for a run-scoring double as he brought home Diltz with his extra-base hit to left to go up 8-1. 
 
Plattsburgh added two more runs in the sixth as Diltz smoked a double to center to bring home Kornblau and Defayette, extending the Plattsburgh lead to 10-1. CCNY scored their second run of the game in the bottom half of the frame as Michael Chasanov doubled home a run. 
 
Christian Diaz (Middletown, N.Y./Iona Prep) pitched the seventh inning for Plattsburgh working around an error to begin the frame, striking out two batters for a scoreless appearance, and giving the Cardinals the 10-2 win. 
 
Rank took the loss for the Beavers, tossing 4.1 innings and giving up seven runs on seven hits. Chasanov had two hits and an RBI, while Kevin Budzinski also had two hits, doubling twice.

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