ASHLAND, Va. – Playing its first game of the 2015 season, the State University of New York at New Paltz baseball team fell at No. 22 Randolph-Macon 7-1 on Thursday afternoon at Estes Park.
 
The Hawks fall to 0-1 and will continue to travel south to Port Charlotte, Fla. and begin the spring break trip on Saturday, March 14 with a doubleheader against Heidelberg starting at 4:30 p.m. The Yellow Jackets, meanwhile, improve to 9-1 overall and host Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Washington & Lee on March 14.
 
Sophomore designated hitter Robert Fitzpatrick (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) led the Hawks with two hits and drove in the team's lone run with an RBI single in the seventh. In a contest that featured 12 pitching changes, New Paltz was outhit by the Yellow Jackets 11-6 and Randolph-Macon tallied one run in each of the first three innings and used a three-run sixth to pull away.
 
Sophomore left-hander Brett Wisner (Forest Hills, N.Y./Forest Hills) was charged with the loss in his first career start, throwing four innings and scattering six hits while striking out two.  Sophomore righty Kevin Frank (Bellmore, N.Y./W.C. Mepham) fanned two batters in one inning of relief.
 
For the Yellow Jackets, Nate Meiners went 4-for-5 while Travis Lodge and Stuart Brown both added two hits apiece. This marked the first meeting between these programs since March 1, 2008 when the teams split a doubleheader.
 
Trailing 1-0 after an inning of play, the Hawks threatened in the top of the second with two outs. Sophomore left fielder Anthony Diana (North Amawalk, N.Y./Somers), senior third baseman Mike Sparacino (Commack, N.Y./Commack) and Fitzpatrick all cracked singles but were left stranded.
 
Again in the third, junior catcher Tyler Bell (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) singled through the left side with two outs, but unfortunately the inning ended with the Hawks unable to create any offense. Trailing 3-0 entering the bottom of the sixth, the Yellow Jackets came to life, plating three runs on two hits and an error to put New Paltz in a 6-0 deficit.
 
Senior first baseman Shaun Hansen (Southold, N.Y./Greenport) reached on a throwing error by Randolph-Macon's third baseman and stole second to start the seventh. With two outs, Fitzpatrick came through with a base knock to center to put the Hawks on the scoreboard. Freshman right fielder Chris Moran (Wading River, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River followed with a walk to give New Paltz two on with two out, but the rally was put to rest by the Yellow Jackets. Randolph-Macon then tacked on another run in the eighth to hand New Paltz the season-opening defeat.