CANTON, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State baseball team turned in 15 hits in an 8-4 non-conference win on Tom Fay Field at St. Lawrence University on Wednesday. The Cardinals move to 5-12 on the season, while the Saints slide to 4-11. The win snaps a three-game losing skid by Plattsburgh State.
Plattsburgh State freshman Alex Follmer (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Plattsburgh) went 4-for-6 with a run scored and a stolen base, while sophomore Patrick Bryant (Center Moriches, N.Y./Center Moriches/Hofstra) went 3-for-5 with three RBIs, one run scored and one stolen base. Freshman Mike Onufrak (Mattituck, N.Y./Mattituck) was 2-for-3 with a walk, an RBI, a stolen base and one run scored, while classmates Justin Adams (Valhalla, N.Y./Westlake) and Kentaro Mori (Tokyo, Japan/Joto) both drew bases loaded walks. Junior Joe Deland (Farmingville, N.Y./Sachem East/Suffolk County CC) singled, scored a run and stole two bases and sophomore Jordan Godfrey (Castleton, Vt./Rutland) provided a pinch-hit single. Sophomore Frank Finkbeiner (Stone Ridge, N.Y./Rondout Valley) earned his first career win after yielding two runs – one earned – on one hit with two strikeouts in 2.2 innings. Adams, sophomore Jon Craft (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) and freshmen Connor Lyons (Brookhaven, N.Y./Bellport) and Brantley Marion (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Beekmantown Central) all had scoreless relief outings on the mound.
St. Lawrence junior Michael LeFevre doubled twice and walked, while sophomore Jeremy Gerringer and freshman Brendon Frank both singled. Senior Erik Larsen walked three times, stole a base and scored a run and sophomore Evan Reichel walked twice and was hit by a pitch. Sophomore Alex Black took the loss after allowing four runs on six hits in 2.1 frames.
Bryant's RBI single in the first inning got Plattsburgh State on the board and the Cardinals stretched their lead to 4-0 in the third as Mori and Adams had back-to-back walks followed later by freshman Stephen Bryant's (Center Moriches, N.Y./Center Moriches) RBI groundout. St. Lawrence plated two runs in the home half of the third on a Plattsburgh State error and a wild pitch.
The visitors scored three times and went 7-2 in the sixth as Patrick Bryant singled home two runs and Deland swiped home for the second time in as many days. Onufrak's RBI single in the seventh pushed the visitors to an 8-2 margin. The Saints scored twice in the eighth on two outs. A bases-loaded fielding error allowed Larsen to come home and Frank's infield single scored sophomore Evan O'Keeffe to make the score 8-4. LeFevre walked to start the bottom of the ninth, but the next three Saints went down in order to wrap up the game.
Plattsburgh State is slated to make its home opener this Friday at noon with a doubleheader against State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) counterpart No. 6/6 SUNY Cortland. Cortland, the 2015 NCAA Division III World Series champion, is ranked according to the latest American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA)/D3baseball.com polls.