NEW PALTZ, NY — The SUNY New Paltz baseball team opened its conference schedule with a pair of wins over Fredonia this afternoon.
The Hawks used a five-run eighth inning to defeat the Blue Devils 8-6 in the second game to earn the sweep. Trailing 6-3, the Hawks battled back to cut the deficit to one on a two-run single by sophomore rightfielder Jeff Cote’ (Mechanicsville, MD). Then, with runners on second and third, freshman designated hitter George Perry (Port Jervis, NY) lined a single to right that scored two and gave SUNY New Paltz a 7-6 lead. Sophomore catcher Josh Gutes (Hauppauge, NY) added an RBI single later in the inning put the Hawks ahead 8-6. Gutes then went on to pitch the ninth and retired the side in order to pick up his first save of the season. Senior Alex Tate (New York, NY) pitched an effective eighth inning to earn his first win of the season.
Junior Don Burch took the loss for Fredonia. He gave up five runs and walked three in one inning of work. Fredonia, who trailed 2-1 through four innings, scored three times in the fifth go ahead 4-2. Sophomore leftfielder Brett McCabe delivered a two-run homer in the inning to spark the Blue Devils (1-12, 0-2). Fredonia added two more in the top of seventh to move ahead 6-2.
In the first game, Cote’ went 3-for-3 with two homers and four runs batted in to lead the Hawks to a 6-3 win. Cote’ hit a two-run shot to left center in the bottom of the second to give SUNY New Paltz a 3-0 lead. In the bottom of the fifth, he homered again to left center to put the Hawks in front, 5-0.
Sophomore Andrew Raphael (Brooklyn, NY) went six and a third innings to earn the victory. The lefthander, who is now 2-2, gave up three runs on six hits. Raphael was touched for two runs in the top of the seventh and replaced by sophomore Greg Vignoli (Commack, NY). Vignoli, who came in with the tying run at the plate, recorded the last two outs to earn his first collegiate save.
SUNY New Paltz is now 8-12 overall and 2-0 in the SUNYAC. The Hawks, who have already equaled last season’s win total, will host conference rival Brockport tomorrow at 12 p.m.
