FT. PIERCE, FL — The baseball team continued play in Ft. Pierce, FL today and swept Western Connecticut State 3-2 and 10-9 in extra innings. The Hawks improve to 9-3 on the season and remain undefeated on their spring trip.
In the opener, Jon Shanks improved to 2-1 on the season after scattering seven hits while striking out eight and walking none for the Hawks. New Paltz got on the scoreboard first with two runs in the bottom of the third. Tyler Terlecky and Joel Judson had run-scoring singles for the Hawks. WestConn came right back and made the score 2-1 with a single to left field. Kevin Paino scored in the bottom half of the fourth after leading off with a single to left field. He stole the Hawks fifth base of the game then came around to score on a hit by Robert Helf. The Colonials threatened in the seventh inning but the Hawks defense held strong.
In the second game, WestConn took a 1-0 lead in the bottom half of the first inning. New Paltz came back with three runs, two of them earned, in the top half of the second inning. Helf and Javy Lopez had RBIs in the frame. The Hawks added another run in the third inning. It too was unearned, when Devin Scalabrini scored on a single by Doug Chaputian. The Colonials knotted the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the third. The Hawks took the lead, 5-4 with another unearned run. Terlecky drove in Jesse Marsh from second base. The Colonials put a three spot on the board in the fourth inning and took a 9-5 advantage in the fifth. Alex Cadmus had a run-scoring single in the sixth inning to bring the Hawks within three runs, 9-6. Kevin Paino belted a triple to right field to plate Cadmus. New Paltz tied the game in the top half of the seventh when Cadmus delivered a single to right field, scoring Marsh. Marsh led off the inning being hit by a pitch. WestConn went down in order in the seventh to send the game into extra innings. The Hawks scored what proved to be the winning run in the top of the eighth with yet another unearned run. Chapatian reached on an error and was moved over by a sacrifice by Lopez. Marsh recorded his second RBI of the afternoon with a single to left field. Reliever and winner Jeff Stith struck out the last two batters to earn the victory for New Paltz. Joel Judson started the game for the Hawks on the mound and pitched four innings, allowing nine hits, two walks, seven runs and striking out five.
New Paltz returns to action on Friday when they play a single game against Bethany Lutheran at 12:30 pm.
