Fiesty Hawks Soar Over Panthers

NEW PALTZ, NY — The SUNY New Paltz baseball team silenced the late rally of SUNY Old Westbury this evening, capturing the 10-8 victory. With the win the Hawks stand at 19-20 overall and the Panthers fall to 12-20 overall.

Old Westbury was trailing 10-3 entering their final at-bat and rallied back to cut the lead to 10-8 and send the game-winning run to the plate. Freshman pitcher Tristan Greene (East Hampton, NY), who had entered the game with one out, managed the save for SUNY New Paltz.

Senior first baseman Dean Glanzman (Commack, NY) went deep in the second and smacked a double in third igniting the offense for SUNY New Paltz. Glanzman’s solo homer in the second allowed the Hawks to tie the affair after Old Westbury scored on a wild pitch. The Hawks’ bats got hot in the third when junior shortstop Daniel Garcia (Patterson, NY) launched a solo homerun. With two outs, the rally began when senior catcher Josh Gutes (Hauppague, NY) walked, senior outfielder Bill Keltz (Waterford, NY) was hit by a pitch, and junior third baseman John Dekams (Kings Park, NY) singled to left scoring Gutes. Glanzman and senior outfielder Ryan Schafer (Oceanside, NY) each doubled giving New Paltz a 6-1 lead. With back-to-back doubles in the fifth, SUNY New Paltz scored two runs on four hits, increasing their lead to 8-1.

Junior Greg Jones (Laurelton, NY) tripled for Old Westbury in the sixth and was driven home on the next play with a sacrifice fly by senior Rob Knips (Commack, NY). Junior Darly Alcantara (Bronx, NY) followed suit in the next inning with a triple to center and freshman John Taglienti (Shirley, NY) drove him in with a single, cutting the lead to 8-3.

New Paltz added its final two runs in the top of the ninth enabling sophomore pitcher Jeff Stith (Selden, NY) to earned the win, after throwing six innings and allowing two earned runs. Junior pitcher Greg Campo (Staten Island, NY) allowed one run in three innings. The loss was issued to freshman Joe Sgroi (Wantagh, NY), who allowed six earned runs in 2.2 innings. Junior Emilio Tapia (New York, NY) closed out the game for Old Westbury, picking up seven strikeouts in 6.1 innings.

Glanzman went 4-for-4 with three runs scored and four RBI, while DeKams went 3-for-5 with two RBI for the Hawks. Jones led Old Westbury with a 2-for-4 outing, including two runs scored and one RBI. Taglienti finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBI.

SUNY New Paltz returns to action tomorrow as they host local rival Mount Saint Mary College at 4:00 pm for their season finale.