BROCKPORT, NY – The SUNY Brockport baseball team hosted its annual Hometown Heroes game on Friday, April 29th to all first responders and those who have served in our nation's military. The team defeated the New Paltz Hawks in the game by a score of 7-3.
 
Hometown Heroes: The Golden Eagles wore specialty army green uniforms with their stars and stripes hats for the game. During the pregame ceremony, the SUNY Brockport ROTC Color Guard presented our nation's flag. Brockport also invited retired state troopers and decorated retired Lieutenant Colonel Denise C. Michel of the United States Army and Officer Trevor Sheehan of the Buffalo Police Department, Assistant Coach Patrick Sheehan's cousin, to throw out this year's ceremonial first pitches of the game.
 
On the Mound: Andrew Huffman (7-2) got his ninth start of the season as the fifth-year right-hander recorded a total of 12 strikeouts against the Hawks and allowed seven hits and two-run without walking a single batter in the game. Relieving Huffman to start off the eighth inning was Adam Douglas who allowed three hits and one run while striking out one batter through the final two innings of the game.
 
Big Bats Stay Hot: Brockport recorded a total of four extra-base hits in the game as all of which came from Tom Kretzler and Nicholas Pastore. Kretzler went 3-4 at the plate with three RBIs as he was only a triple shy of a cycle. He launched a home run over the left-field fence in the bottom of the fifth to record the 30th home run of his career. Pastore went 2-4 scoring a total of three runs with two RBIs. his triple in the fifth inning was his seventh of the season and 11th of his career.
 
Matt O'Dair and Justin Pangburn each recorded two base hits as well in the game. James Houlahan, Ryan Voight, and Jake Sisto each recorded base knocks as well. Sisto picked up two RBIs against New Paltz as Voight recorded one RBI from a single to right field in the third to drive in Zach Eldred.
 
Scoring Recap: The Golden Eagles got off to an early lead in the game off of Pastore's two-run shot to right field in the bottom of the first to put Brockport up 2-0.
 
Brockport would then go on to score three runs in the bottom of the third inning before New Paltz would go on to record two runs in the top of the fifth inning to make it a 5-2 Golden Eagles lead entering the bottom of the fifth. In the bottom half of that inning Brockport would take back its two runs as Kretzler recorded his home run off the first pitch of the inning before Sisto's single would score Pastore from third base to make it a 7-2 ballgame.
 
New Paltz would end up scoring one more run in the ninth inning which wouldn't be enough as the Golden Eagles picked up their 27th win of the season. And now stretch their undefeated winning streak at the Clark V. Whited complex to 22 games in a row.
 
What's Next: Saturday marks Brockport's senior day where the Golden Eagles will celebrate their graduating class prior to the start of game one at noon. Brockport will also host a senior student-athlete picnic on Saturday, and it will honor all Golden Eagle senior student-athletes between the two games of the doubleheader against New Paltz around 2 p.m.