Baseball Opens Season With Win

OAKFIELD, NY — SUNY New Paltz got its baseball season off on the right foot, beating Division II Dowling, 6-2, on Tuesday afternoon on Long Island. The game featured the use of wooden bats by both teams.

“Overall we played very well,” New Paltz Head Coach Mike Juhl said. “I was extremely excited and pleased with our offensive output.”

New Paltz got on the board in the top of the first inning, manufacturing a run without the benefit of a base hit. “We moved runners along, hit and ran, (and) did a nice job,” Juhl said.

Junior transfer Shawn Urban (Schenectady/Mohansen) pitched the first five innings, allowing just three hits, while walking two and striking out five, to pick up his first win. Chris Celano (Setauket/Ward Melville) retired all but three batters over the remaining four innings for his first save.

Urban also helped himself at the plate, going 2-for-5, with two runs scored. Freshman Mike Quinn went 2-for-4, including a double and a run batted in. Dowling, meanwhile, failed to get an extra-base hit in the contest.

“Shawn Urban pitched extremely well, only getting in trouble in the first inning,” Juhl noted. “(And) Eric Rosen, our catcher, did a nice job behind the plate. He threw out two of three guys stealing.”

New Paltz hosts Southern Vermont for a doubleheader at 1 p.m. Saturday.