PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. - The Plattsburgh State baseball team was dominant on both sides of the diamond on Wednesday afternoon, as they took down SUNY Canton 16-3 in non-conference action. The Cardinals received five multi-hit games and excellent work from Ryan Nista (East Greenbush, N.Y./Columbia) and the bullpen to take home their 12th win of the season.
Nista earned his second win of the year with five great innings of one-run ball and had eight strikeouts, matching the career-highs he set against SUNY Canton last year and tied against Clarkson earlier this season. Alex Kornblau (Pound Ridge, N.Y./Fox Lane) reached safely in all six of his appearances at the plate, going 4-4 with three runs scored, three RBI, and two doubles. Justice Suafoa (Kinderhook, N.Y./Ichabod Crane) had a career-best four hits, going 4-6 with two runs scored, an RBI, and a double. Andrew Veit (Yaphank, N.Y./ Bellport), Ben Catrambone (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna), and Daniel Grant (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) each registered two hits, with Veit driving in three runs, Catrambone scoring three runs and tripling, and Grant scoring twice and doubling.
Plattsburgh improves to 12-17 with the win and will host SUNY Cortland in a huge conference series with the Red Dragons beginning tomorrow, April 27 at 3 p.m. SUNY Canton falls to 10-20 and will travel to SUNY Cobleskill on Saturday for NAC action.
The Cardinals jumped on the board early, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first after Nista tossed a scoreless opening frame, working around two errors. After two runners reached on a walk and HBP, Suafoa lined a double in the left-center gap, plating Kornblau and opening up the scoring for the game. Veit followed with a lined single up the middle, as he plated two runs for the Cards and put them up 3-0.
In the second, the 'Roos drove in a run with an RBI groundout, but a Kyle Cremin (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Kennedy Catholic) sacrifice fly in the following half inning immediately got the run back for the Cards. Plattsburgh followed in the third with two runs on a sacrifice fly from Catrambone and an RBI single from Kornblau, taking a 6-1 lead.
The 6-1 score held through the fourth inning and top of the fifth, until Plattsburgh scored five runs on five hits in the bottom of the fifth. A Grant RBI double opened up the scoring in the frame, and the team followed two batters with four straight run-scoring plays, capped by a Veit single to center to score Suafoa. The Cardinals plated two more runs in the sixth as Kornblau singled home Catrambone after his triple and Joey Di Rocco (Congers, N.Y./Clarkstown South) brought home a run with a sacrifice fly, as the score stood at 13-1 after six innings of play.
Canton was able to score a run in the eighth, but Plattsburgh responded with three runs in the following half-inning as Kornblau concluded his day with an RBI double, Di Rocco brought home another run with a sac fly, and Brayden Trombley (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Plattsburgh) collected his first collegiate RBI with run-scoring single.
In relief for the Cards, Eric Agan (Burnt Hills, N.Y./Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) tossed a scoreless sixth inning and Christian Diaz (Middletown, N.Y./Iona Prep) struck out the side in the seventh. Matt Edwards (Commack, N.Y./Commack) logged an inning of work in the eighth, giving up just one run and Tyler Kohn (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Sachem North) made his first appearance of the year and struck out the final batter of the game looking to finish the day for the Cards.
Morgan De La Garza took the loss on the mound for the 'Roos in 4.1 innings of work while Ty Reed had two hits and Edilberto Rosado had two hits and two RBI for Canton.