SAUGERTIES, N.Y. – After enduring a gut-wrenching loss in game one, the Plattsburgh State baseball team came out and took advantage early in the second game of a SUNYAC doubleheader to earn a 10-5 win over New Paltz at Cantine Park on Sunday afternoon.

Plattsburgh State moves to 11-16 and 6-9 in league play while the Hawks are 6-18 and 3-10 in conference action.

GAME ONE: New Paltz 9, Plattsburgh State 8 (8 inn.)
The owners of what seemed like a comfortable 8-1 lead heading to the bottom of the fifth inning, the Cardinals saw New Paltz break out the big bats and plate seventh in that particular frame to tie the game before the Hawks won it in extras.

TJ Montalbano staked the Cardinals to a 2-0 lead after one when his two-out single up the middle plated Mike Vargues and Brian Latulipe. On the mound, Vargues was doing a splendid job holding up his end of the bargain as he kept the Hawks off-balance through the first four frames.

The senior out of Gansevoort, N.Y., allowed six hits to New Paltz during the initial four innings and worked his way out of two bases-loaded jams during that span, too.

Thanks to a big fourth inning, the Cardinals took a lot of pressure off of Vargues. In that stanza, Plattsburgh State racked up six hits off of Brian Solomon and the first of four New Paltz relievers in Conor Donachie.

Anthony Pantano's throwing error allowed the two of the six Plattsburgh State runs to cross home plate before Latulipe hammered a triple to straightaway center field to plate Jack Tolosky and Tyler Bulich.

Vargues added his only RBI of the contest one batter later as he brought Latulipe home with a sharp single through the left side of the Hawks' infield. Senior Chris Pescetti was responsible for the Cardinals' final run of the tilt when his one-out single to left field allowed Vargues to touch home plate all the way from second base.

New Paltz chipped away at the Cardinals' substantial lead in the bottom of the fourth when a Ryan Bowser sacrifice fly plated Shaun Hansen.

Things took a turn for the worse in the fifth after Vargues got leadoff man Andrew DiNardo to fly out to center. A hit by pitch, a walk and the last of three Plattsburgh State errors loaded the bases and set the table for Hansen who smashed grand slam to left center and shrank the Cardinals' edge to 8-5.

Another walk followed by the Hawks' second hit of the inning signaled the end of Vargues' day on the hill. The senior gave way to Andrew Kramer who gave up a single to Bowser on his first offering of the day which loaded the bags yet again.

A bases-clearing triple by Jake Williams tied the game at eight before Kramer finally worked his way out of the nightmarish frame with a pop fly and a fly ball out.

Plattsburgh State was poised to retake the lead in the sixth after an error, a walk and a Matt Krogh single loaded the bases with two outs, but Latulipe popped out to end the frame.

Richard Guido ended the game with a two-out single in the eighth which scored Hansen who ripped a double down the left field line.


Vargues, Pescetti and Nick Lupo each finished with two hits for the Cardinals and Kramer found himself on the receiving end of the tough-luck loss by working 3.1 innings and giving up five of the Hawks' 13 hits.


Williams went 4-for-5 at the plate for New Paltz while Hansen's line said 3-for-5 with four RBIs and three runs scored. The latter Hawk also earned the win by tossing three innings of one-hit ball in relief.

GAME TWO: Plattsburgh State 10, New Paltz 5
Vargues set the tone for the Cardinals on the very first pitch of the game, driving a long ball beyond the fence in left-center and Plattsburgh State's offense backed a strong outing on the hill by Will Flynn.

New Paltz took its only lead of the game when Anthony Diana and Tyler Bell each registered an RBI in the bottom of the first to give the designated home team a 2-1 lead.

In the Cardinals' four-run fourth, Lupo, Billy Rombauts, Brandon Buksa and Latulipe each picked up RBIs to help Plattsburgh State retake the lead and extend it to 5-2. Lupo added another RBI in the fifth to push the Cardinals' edge to 7-2.

One run each by the Hawks in the fifth and the sixth shrank the Cardinals' lead to 7-4, but Plattsburgh State put things on ice with three more runs in the seventh and eighth.

Pescetti smacked an RBI double to right in the seventh and Latulipe and Jack Tolosky picked up RBIs on a sacrifice fly and a single respectively in the eighth.

Pescetti finished 3-for-4 for the Cardinals with an RBI and two runs scored while Brandon Buksa enjoyed a great day at the plate by tallying three hits on three plate appearances. The freshman also finished with three runs scored and an RBI.

Alex Rodriguez was the only other Cardinals to finish with multiple hits as he went 2-for-4. Flynn gave up eight hits and four earned runs in six innings of work before giving the ball to Sean Howard who picked up a three-inning save.

Christian Huertas took the loss for the Hawks after giving up nine hits and six runs in four innings.

Plattsburgh State will head to Lefty Wilson Field on Tuesday evening to play Union College in the third annual Brian Mehan Be The Match game. First pitch in the non-conference battle is set for 6 p.m.