SUNY New Paltz athletics photo by Dary Zehr Photography

Cortland, NY — Against all odds, the Hawks brought home the first SUNYAC title in program history.

A seemingly implausible feat, the State University of New York at New Paltz not only defeated Oswego five times in a row to solidify a spot in the SUNYAC finals but were victorious against nationally ranked Cortland in the championship. Never defeating the Red Dragons on their home field, the Hawks did so twice Sunday, 11-3 and 15-11, to claim the program's first ever SUNYAC title.

Cortland came into the postseason ranked first in Region III and secured a No. 20 national ranking as of May 7. SUNY New Paltz ranked third regionally but had not broken the Top 25 national ranking all season, but that did not discourage the Hawks from going to war in the playoffs.

"I just want to thank the administration, the athletic department, and our coaches and parents, all the people who always believed in us," said Hawks graduate student captain Michael Boccarossa. "I can't put into words how much this means to me and the guys on the team. All year we battled through adversity and came up on top, [and] that just shows the resilience in this group and the fight for each other mentality."

In a historic regular season, the 2024 team flipped the previous season's losing 14-24 record to a winning 24-14 campaign this year. The team triumphed in SUNYAC play, having won out multiple series against SUNYAC opponents such as Oneonta (2-3), Brockport (2-3), and Fredonia (2-3). The Hawks also defied the odds in their five straight victories against the Oswego Lakers, which included a legendary comeback victory in their first playoff meeting, as SUNY New Paltz fought back from a 10-0 deficit to win the contest 12-11 to earn their highest playoff seeding in program history at No. 2, only behind Cortland.

"The entire season has been a special ride, especially the last three to four weeks," said Hawks coach Thomas Seay. "If you would have told me we'd win over twenty games since April or come back down 10 in the third inning against Oswego, and beat Cortland not once, but twice, on their home field to win our first conference championship — I don't think I'd believe you."

SUNY New Paltz played all day with pressure on its back, as one loss would have sent them on the bus back home. Cortland had a safety net from its previous win against SUNY New Paltz Saturday, needing to lose twice. Again, it was a far-fetched undertaking for the visitors, but the Hawks came through.

Game 1 proved SUNY New Paltz's winning intentions. After a scoreless first inning, the Hawks got on the board first in the top of the second. Anthony Pericolosi singled to third base, followed by Boccarossa who also found the gap in the left field to land on first, and Pericolosi advanced to second. Justin Harvey soared one into left-center field, which sent not only one, but two runners home to put his team up 2-0.
Nick Harvey

Fabian Apicella moved Harvey over to third with a sacrifice ground out before Wallace Kirkpatrick connected on the first pitch to left field, which sent Harvey home for the third run of the game.

Tommy Kreider got on base in the fifth inning after he sent one down the left-field line for a two-bagger, and Boccarossa extended SUNY New Paltz's lead after he singled out and gained an RBI which sent Kreider home.

Kreider would score again in the sixth, alongside teammates Nick Harvey and Kirkpatrick, after Michael Ascanio smoked one to left field to unload the bases. The Hawks had a 7-0 lead, which slowly diminished Cortland's' hope of a comeback.

The rest of the contest was all SUNY New Paltz, as the Red Dragons struggled offensively and only posted three runs. The Hawks, however, continued to extend their lead until the final batter before finalizing the 11-3 outcome. A dominant performance from the visitors was also a necessary one, as it punched their ticket to the final game against Cortland, for all or nothing.

With arms running thin, Nick Harvey was handed the ball to start on the mound in game two for the Hawks. Cortland came out quickly and scored three straight runs in three innings. SUNY New Paltz could not take advantage of any offensive opportunity at the start. However, things started to get hot for the Hawks.

Between the fourth and the seventh innings, SUNY New Paltz scored 13 unanswered and found success defensively as well, limiting Cortland to five runs heading into the eighth inning. The visitors tacked on two more runs in the top of the eighth that extended their lead to 15. Despite the staggering deficit, the Red Dragons would not cease and attempted to claw their way back.

In the bottom of the eighth, Cortland tacked on three runs and went on to keep the Hawks to zero hits at the top of the ninth. The Red Dragons attempted to rally in the bottom of the ninth and added three runs to shorten the Hawks lead, including a two-run home run to shorten the difference to four, but the door was shut there. Ascanio came in from center field to close for James McGovern on the mound, and soon sealed the victory, as he struck out the last Cortland batter.

The two wins solidified the 2024 team into the history books in more than one way. Not only was it the first SUNYAC championship for the Hawks, but also the first time SUNY New Paltz has beaten Cortland on their home field in 38 tries.

After the championship victory, SUNY New Paltz leaves Plattsburgh as the only member of the SUNYAC conference, past and present, to not have a SUNYAC baseball championship chip.

Kreider was named the Tournament MVP. He finished with five runs, nine hits, and tied a tournament-high seven RBIs through five games. In the championship contest, Kreider connected on four hits and batted in three runs, both tying season-high statistics. Also named to the tournament team were sophomore Liam Ryan, Pericolosi, Ascanio, graduate student Dillon Ristano, and freshman Ryan Knieriemen.

"This season has been remarkable, we had so many program firsts that it's hard to keep track of at this point," said Seay. "I'm just super pumped for these men, they won this thing, Coach Riv and I just got to watch. It was special."

"I would like to thank all our baseball alumni out there, they laid the foundation for this moment," he added. "Our parents, both present and past who've sacrificed to make this a reality we can't thank you enough. To our administration, thank you. And I'd like to personally thank my family, my wife, Melanie, and my kids Levi, Remi and Yardley. They sacrifice so much and without them, I couldn't do this."

The Hawks will find out their seeding and opponent during the selection show on May 13. For now, the team will return home victorious, and as SUNY New Paltz Baseball legends.

"This team is the best team in New Paltz Baseball history," said Boccarossa. "We proved that today."