PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – At first, the Plattsburgh State baseball team's 2015 home opener couldn't exactly be classified as a resounding success, but thanks to a 21-hit performance in the second of two SUNYAC confrontations with Oneonta State the Cardinals emerged with a split at Chip Cummings Field on Tuesday afternoon.
Plattsburgh State's record now stands at 10-14 and 4-7 in league games while the Red Dragons are 5-15 and 2-7 in SUNYAC conflicts.
GAME ONE: Oneonta State 11, Plattsburgh State 2 (7 inn.)All of the offense the Red Dragons required to pick up their second SUNYAC win of the season came in the top of the first inning. Oneonta State sent 10 men to the plate during that span and amassed six hits and seven runs.
The biggest base knock came off the steel of shortstop Joe Franke who drove a bases-clearing triple to the deepest part of right field. Plattsburgh State's starting pitcher
Brandon Buksa was handed the loss (0-2) after working just two-thirds of an inning and giving up six hits, one walk and all seven earned runs.
One half of the Cardinals' offensive total occurred during their first set of at-bats.
Brian Latulipe and
Frank Buksa each recorded singles before senior
Chris Pescetti laced a one-out single to center field to plate
Nick Lupo who reached on a fielder's choice. Three of the Cardinals' six hits in the game came in the bottom of the first.
Mike Vargues single-handedly trimmed the Red Dragons' lead to five in the bottom of the fourth. The Gansevoort, N.Y., product led off the frame with an inside-the-park home run which brought his 2015 SUNYAC-leading long ball count to four and made the score 7-2.
For the rest of the game, though, the Cardinals would register just one more hit off of Oneonta State starter Thomas Bond and seventh-inning reliever John Danielo.
The final four Oneonta runs crossed home plate in the top of the fifth and all but one of them were of the unearned variety. Sam Beaulac drilled a one-out single to center field which scored two runs before designated hitter Billy Riedel mashed a two-out double to right.
Latulipe, the Cardinals' leadoff man, reached base a team-best three times in the first game as he went 2-for-3 and drew one of the three Plattsburgh State walks. Beaulac, Frank and Reidel each finished with three RBIs while Casey Kerdesky and Mike Cruz registered three hits apiece for Oneonta State.
GAME TWO: Plattsburgh State 14, Oneonta State 1 (9 inn.)It was a tale of two halves for the Cardinals in their second go-around with the Red Dragons as Plattsburgh State transformed what was a pitcher's duel in the first 4.5 innings into a slugfest through the final 4.5 to walk away with a split on the afternoon.
TJ Montalbano staked the home team to an early 1-0 lead when he took a bases-loaded walk to receive credit for an RBI. Vargues, who was the first of five Cardinals to get smacked with a pitch in the bout, came around to score.
The only blemish on
Will Flynn's day on the bump came during the top of the second when Cruz led off the frame with a triple before Franke brought him around to score with an RBI single to knot the game at one.
Flynn, who hails from Peru, N.Y., saw his defense turn a pair of double plays behind him to improve to 2-1. The senior finished with a line of seven innings pitched, seven hits, two walks, two strikeouts and retired the final nine batters he faced in the conference tussle.
After racking up just five hits through the first four innings, the Cardinals rocked Oneonta starter Christopher DiDomizio in the fifth by collecting four runs on four hits and two of the three Red Dragon errors.
Pescetti delivered the game-winning RBI when he reached on a defensive miscue and plated Vargues who led off the frame with a double. Freshman
Tyler Bulich came up with the innings' biggest hit when he swatted a one-out double to left field which scored both Pescetti and
Frank Buksa.
Billy Rombauts capped the Cardinals' four-run frame with an RBI single that scored Bulich. That frame proved to be just the start of an offensive explosion for the Cardinals who knocked around Oneont State relievers Dan Shelton, Robert Marks and David Miller in the seventh and eighth innings.
Five more Plattsburgh State hits in the seventh led to another quartet of runs. Latulipe and Montalbano notched RBI singles while Vargues added another two RBIs to his afternoon tally as the Cardinals upped their edge to 9-1.
The Cardinals' final haymaker came in the eighth when the home team sent 10 batters to the plate. When the dust had settled, the Cardinals had added another five runs and six hits to their gaudy numbers.
Latulipe, Vargues and
Frank Buksa each had an RBI single in the frame as did senior
Matt Meunier who entered the game as a pinch hitter. Pinch runner
Ray Flynn came around to score the game's final run on a wild pitch by Miller.
All in all, 11 Cardinals had a hit in the rout and five enjoyed multi-hit outings. Vargues and
Frank Buksa each went 4-for-5 at the plate and combined for five runs and four RBIs. Latulipe's line said 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored while Pescetti and Lupo conjured up two hits each and scored three more Plattsburgh State runs.
DiDomizio took the loss as he surrendered nine hits, five runs and two walks in five innings toeing the rubber.
Three more SUNYAC contests are next up on the Plattsburgh State docket. The Cardinals will face off against New Paltz at Cantine Field in Saugerties, N.Y. this weekend. Game one has been set for 7 p.m. on Saturday night.
