PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State baseball team salvaged a split with New Paltz in its State University of New York Athletic Conference openers, winning the nightcap of the doubleheader, 15-9, after losing the first game 14-11. The nationally ranked Cardinals (No. 18 ABCA, No. 23 D3Baseball.com/NCBWA) level at 19-3 overall while the Hawks now stand at 14-7 and 2-1 in the conference.
Plattsburgh and New Paltz combined for six home runs in the two contests, which is believed to be a record for a single day at eight-year-old Chip Cummings Field. In the second contest, Andrew Baio broke a 9-9 tie with a home run to right-center, his first of the season, and four batters later Matt Burns added a two-run blast to right field as the Cardinals turned a 7-0 deficit into a 12-9 lead after seven innings. Plattsburgh tacked on three insurance runs in the next frame on a throwing error by the catcher and a two-run double off the bat of Anthony Presto.
Pat Shaughnessy, Greg Larnerd and Baio each had two hits in a Plattsburgh 12-hit attack. Danny Roeser, Presto, Burns, Shaughnessy, Larnerd and Baio had two runs batted in apiece.
Corey Johnston (2-1) picked up the victory in relief, pitching 5-2/3 strong innings. He allowed just two runs--but none over the last three frames--and three hits while striking out four.
In the first game, Tory Bouyea and Shaughnessy led the Cardinals with three hits each but it wasn't enough to prevent Plattsburgh from losing back-to-back games for the first time in 2010. (The team had lost in its previous outing at Clarkson, 14-9, on Wednesday.)
After spotting the Hawks two runs in the top of the first, the Cardinals responded with four of their own in the bottom of the frame. Burns capped the rally with a two-run single to left-center.
New Paltz, however, reclaimed the lead with five runs in the second for a 7-4 advantage. The teams traded three runs over the next two innings before Plattsburgh would eventually tie it, 10-10, with two in the fifth and one in the sixth.
The Hawks put the game away with two-run frames in both the eighth and ninth. New Paltz outhit the Cardinals, 17-10.
