ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. – Playing its first State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) contests of 2017, the baseball team at the State University of New York at New Paltz earned a split against No. 13 SUNY Oswego, taking game one, 7-5, before falling in game two, 6-2, at Honey Field at Bard College.
After Monday, the Hawks move to 8-6 overall and 1-1 in SUNYAC while the Lakers move to 13-5 overall, 4-1 SUNYAC. New Paltz and Oswego will conclude the three-game series tomorrow at 12 p.m. at Bard College.
Game One: New Paltz 7, No. 13 Oswego 5
Despite trailing 4-1 after five innings, the Hawks plated three runs in the sixth and tacked on two more insurance runs in the seventh and eighth frames to earn the opening win.
Both juniors Dwayne Page (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Connetquot) and Jake Williams (Seaford, N.Y./Seaford) drove in two RBI while junior Anthony Pantano (Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale) went 2-for-3 at the plate with two runs and one RBI.
Williams finished the game 1-for-3 with one run and two walks while Page went 2-for-3. Junior Chris Moran (Wading River, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River) also enjoyed a 2-for-3 outing.
Both Pantano and sophomore Ryan Frost (Beacon, N.Y./Beacon) ripped doubles to pace the Hawks offense.
On the mound, junior Conor Donachie (Garden City, N.Y./Chaminade) earned the starting nod and threw five innings (103 pitches), giving up three earned runs while walking six.
In relief, freshman John LoCurto (Westbury, N.Y./Carle Place) threw the sixth inning, tacking on one strikeout and junior Ryan Votypka (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park) earned his first win of the season, tossing three innings of scoreless baseball with two punch outs.
In the first, Page reached on a fielder's choice, which plated Williams and gave New Paltz the early 1-0 edge. However, the Lakers woke up and scored the next four runs of the game to claim a 4-1 lead.
Williams helped cut the deficit down to two (4-2) with an RBI single to center in the fourth. Pantano drove home pinch runner Matt Warshaw (Bohemia, N.Y./Connetquot) in the sixth and Williams picked up his second RBI of the game to tie the game up at 4-4.
Junior Brian Brenton (Calverton, N.Y./Riverhead) completed the big inning for the Hawks, scoring on a passed ball to give New Paltz a slim 5-4 lead.
After Oswego tied the game up in the seventh (5-5), Page plated pinch runner Kyle Gilligan (Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury) in the seventh and Frost scored on a wild pitch to take the 7-5 lead.
Game Two: No. 13 Oswego 6, New Paltz 2
Moran hit his first career home run in the sixth inning but his power display was not enough as the Hawks fell in the nightcap.
The junior launched a 2-0 pitch over the left field fence to cut the Oswego lead down to 5-2 for his lone hit of the game.
Page and sophomore Justin Ganca (Merrick, N.Y./Bellmore John F. Kennedy) both finished game two 2-for-3 as Ganca picked up an RBI single up the middle in the third inning.
Offensively, Williams, Nick DePietro (Carmel, N.Y./Carmel), Pantano and Frost earned the rest of the base knocks for New Paltz, as both teams finished with nine hits apiece.
On the mound, junior lefty Brian LoRusso (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) was charged with the loss, going 4 1/3 innings, tossing 77 pitches with four strikeouts.
Freshmen Michael Delio (Westbury, N.Y./Carle Place) and James Magnuson (Northport, N.Y./Northport) appeared out of the pen, throwing the final 2 2/3 innings with Delio striking out a pair.