WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – For the second time since 1995, the State University of New York at New Paltz baseball team defeated No. 1 SUNY Cortland, 11-2, in game one of a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) doubleheader in the second day of the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational on Friday. Cortland won game two, 15-4.
 
New Paltz last defeated Cortland at home on April 30, 2011 as the Hawks took the back end of a twinbill, 3-2, after dropping the first game, 5-1. 
 
The Hawks move to 3-4-2, 1-1 SUNYAC while the Red Dragons rise to 14-2, 1-1 SUNYAC, and will play each other again tomorrow at 10 a.m.
 
Game 1
 
Sophomore second baseman Anthony Pantano (Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale) hit an RBI single in the top of the second to place the Hawks on the scoreboard before senior catcher Tyler Bell (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) belted out an RBI double to extend New Paltz's lead to 2-0 in the top of the third. 
 
The Hawks secured two outs in the bottom of the fourth but a homer by senior center fielder Conrad Ziemendorf cut the advantage to 2-1. A sacrifice fly by senior shortstop Keith Andrews in the bottom of the fifth allowed senior second baseman Connor Griffin to find home plate and tie up the score.

With two outs against the Hawks and the bases loaded in the top of the sixth, Cortland brought out a relief pitcher to close the inning but freshman shortshop Ryan Frost (Beacon, N.Y./Beacon) and sophomore right fielder Nick DePietro (Carmel, N.Y./Carmel) would both walk, bringing in two runs for the Hawks.
 
After another pitching change by the Red Dragons, Bell stepped up to plate a single through right field that allowed senior third baseman Andrew DiNardo (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./John Jay-East Fishkill) and Frost to score before sophomore designated hitter Chris Moran (Wading River, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River) singled to bring in DePietro for a 7-2 lead.
 
Senior Chris Baltera (Commack, N.Y./Commack) notched two RBIs on a single down the left line to bring the advantage to 9-2 and would score a run of his own for a 10-2 cushion before Cortland closed out the inning with an out on a fielder's choice. Still, the Red Dragons would be unable to halt the Hawks' efforts as a double by DiNardo in the top of the eighth brought home sophomore centerfielder Jake Williams (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) to secure the win.
 
New Paltz hammered out 15 hits an committed no errors in the victory. Bell concluded the game with one run, three RBIs, two doubles and was 3-for-6 at the plate while Baltera was 2-for-4 and plated three runs, two RBIs, and a double. Williams scored two runs and one RBI while batting 3-for-5 at the plate. DiNardo tallied one run, one double and one RBI and was 2-for-4 at the plate. Frost, Pantano, DePietro and Moran tallied one RBI apiece.
 
Sophomore pitcher Conor Donachie (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) picked up the win to improve to 2-1 on the season. Donachie faced 21 batters in five innings, allowing five hits, walking one batter and striking out two. Freshman pitcher Justin Stybel (Bellmore, N.Y./John F. Kennedy) earned the save, facing 12 batters in three innings and surrendered one run while striking out two batters.
 
For Cortland, Griffin went 2-for-3 at the plate with one run while Ziemendorf was 1-for-2 with one run and one RBI. Junior pitcher Jeff Cooke gave up five runs and two hits to earn the loss.
 
Game 2
 
The Red Dragons grabbed 15 runs on 14 hits and committed no errors to take the second game victory. Cortland scored runs in four of five innings to lead, 15-0
 
After five straight innings with no runs, sophomore catcher Spencer Brown (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) was walked before advancing to second on a single up the middle by sophomore left fielder Jeff Sarra (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Connetquot) in the top of the sixth. A wild pitch by the Cortland pitcher would set up both runners in scoring position before Moran hammered a double down the left field line to bring them home for a 15-2 score.
 
The Hawks added two more runs in the top of the seventh as sophomore third baseman Tom Read (Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge) hit an RBI single to send home LoRusso before another Moran single batted in DiNardo. However the Hawks would not be able to find another scoring opportunity as the Cortland centerfielder caught the final out needed to end the game.
 
Moran went 2-for-2 at the plate with three RBIs while Read tallied one RBI and was 1-for-2 at the plate. LoRusso, DiNardo, Brown and Sarra notched one run apiece. Junior pitcher Kyle Krebs (Commack, N.Y./Commack) surrendered four hits and six runs to take the loss on the mound.
 
Freshman pinch hitter/designated hitter Jake Hewitt was 2-for-3 at the plate for the Red Dragons with two runs and four RBIs while Ziemendorf went 2-for-3 with one run and three RBIs. Senior pitcher Seth Lamando earned his third win of the season, allowing just two hits and striking out four batters.