AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The State University of New York at New Paltz earned its fifth-straight win at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational as the Hawks swept Hope College in a doubleheader on Tuesday at Lake Myrtle Park Field. New Paltz won the first game, 12-3, before taking game two, 4-3.

The Hawks improve to 8-4-2 on the season and close out their week in Florida tomorrow when they play Kalamazoo College at 9 a.m. Hope drops to 4-4 and moves on to play St. Norbert College tomorrow at 11:15 a.m.
 
Game 1
 
New Paltz capitalized on two Hope errors to place sophomore right fielder Nick DePietro (Carmel, N.Y./Carmel) and sophomore Chris Moran (Wading River, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River) on base in the top of the first. Junior first baseman Anthony Diana (North Amawalk, N.Y./Somers) doubled to drive in DePietro before sophomore center fielder Jake Williams (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) and sophomore first baseman Anthony Pantano (Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale) each followed with an RBI single to put New Paltz up, 3-0. Junior left fielder Taylor Anderson (East New Market, Md./Cambridge-South Dorchester) and freshman shortstop Danny Campbell (Pearl River, N.Y./Pearl River) added two more runs for a 5-0 margin before Hope struck out DePietro to end the inning.
 
The Hawks would give up a run to Hope in the top of the third for a 5-1 score but would extend their lead with another five runs in the bottom of the inning. A single by senior third baseman Andrew DiNardo (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./John Jay-East Fishkill) brought home Williams but Pantano would take advantage of another Hope error to score, increasing the gap to 7-1. Campbell, Anderson and DePietro each produced a run to give New Paltz a comfortable 10-1 cushion.
 
In the top of the fourth, senior designated hitter Luke Brower and sophomore first baseman Landon Brower each scored a run to cut the deficit to 10-3, but New Paltz added runs in the bottom of the fourth and sixth innings to take the final 12-3 victory.
 
The Hawks hammered out 14 hits on 12 runs while committing just one error. Pantano went 3-for-3 at the plate with three runs and one RBI. Anderson was 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs while DiNardo was 2-for-3 with one RBI. Freshman pitcher Justin Stybel (Bellmore, N.Y./John F. Kennedy) struck out four batters and walked two of the 21 he faced and gave up three runs and four hits to take the win.
 
Luke Brower went 1-for-3 at the plate with one run and one RBI while sophomore center fielder Ben De Ritter was 1-for-2 and also tallied one run. Senior pitcher Jake Chipka took the loss, surrendering seven hits and seven runs, walked one batter and struck out three.
 
Game 2
 
In the top of the second, freshman shortstop Ryan Frost (Beacon, N.Y./Beacon) hit a single to set up Williams in scoring position before sophomore catcher Spencer Brown (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) belted a double to the outfield, driving in Williams for New Paltz's first run of the game. Senior second baseman Kyle Gilligan (Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury) plated an infield single to put the Hawks up 2-0 as Frost scored home.
 
Hope sliced the deficit to 2-1 in the bottom of the inning as center fielder Nicholas Holt sent a single through the right center to bring in Brower but a double play by the Hawks would end Hope's chances of a tie.
 
With senior designated hitter Tyler Bell (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) and sophomore third baseman Tom Read (Massapequa, N.Y./Plainedge) on base in the top of the third, senior first baseman Chris Baltera (Commack, N.Y./Commack) hit a sacrifice fly to advance Bell to scoring position before Williams drove him in on a single to right field for a 3-1 advantage.
 
Hope rallied in the top fifth, placing runners on second and third before senior left fielder Ryan Konkle singled to bring home freshman second baseman Andrew Zawacki for a 3-2 score. However a batter interference on Hope's part closed the inning and sent the Hawks back to the plate.
 
Anderson led off the top of the sixth with a double to left center before taking advantage of a passed ball to advance to third. Gilligan would go down swinging before DePietro knocked a single up the middle, bringing in Anderson and increasing the Hawks' lead to 4-2. DePietro stole second before advancing to third on a ground out but would be left on base as Hope retired Read for the final out.
 
Brower scored Hope's only run in the bottom of the inning for the 4-3 tally but DiNardo sealed the win for New Paltz, striking out three of four batters in the bottom of the seventh.
 
Williams went 2-for-3 at the plate with one run and one RBI while Frost was 1-for-3 with one run. Gilligan, DePietro, and Brown tallied an RBI each in the win. Sophomore pitcher Brian LoRusso (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) struck out four batters of the 16 he faced and surrendered five hits and one run to take the win, improve to 1-0 on the season. DiNardo was credited with the save, allowing just one hit and striking out three batters.
 
Brower was 2-for-3 with two runs and a double for Hope while Holt went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Junior right fielder JP Batts went 4-for-4 at the plate and notched a double. Eric Plaehn took the loss, giving up three hits and one run while striking out three batters