PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – An early dose of small ball allowed the Plattsburgh State baseball team to get a jump on the number-one ranked team in the land early on, but SUNY Cortland turned the tide with a six-run fourth inning and the Cardinals went on to drop a 9-1 decision to the Red Dragons in their 2015 home finale at Chip Cummings Field on Sunday afternoon.
The Cardinals managed to pile up seven hits in the setback – including two each from seniors
Nick Lupo and
Mike Vargues – which sent their record to 12-20 and 6-12 in the SUNYAC. SUNY Cortland pounded out 14 hits and improved to 32-2 and 17-1 in league bouts.
Making the final home start of his collegiate career,
Will Flynn was undaunted by the Red Dragons early on. The senior out of Peru, N.Y., tossed three scoreless frames, gave up two hits and allowed just four SUNY Cortland batters to reach the base paths through the opening third of the league confrontation.
Catching the Red Dragons off-guard in the home portion of the first, senior
Brian Latulipe laid down the first of three Plattsburgh State bunts in the frame to reach safely on a base hit. The Plattsburgh, N.Y., advanced to second on a sacrifice job by Lupo before heading to third on a balk by Cortland hurler Zach Ferris.
As soon as he dug into the box, senior
Frank Buksa was ordered to execute a squeeze play – which the Plattsburgh, N.Y., product did to perfection. The catcher tapped the first pitch he saw down the third base line and notched an RBI as Latulipe scored to put the score at 1-0.
It appeared as though Flynn would minimize the damage done by the Red Dragons' bats inthe top of the fourth as he registered two quick outs after allowing a pair of hits and the game-tying run, but Cortland had other plans.
Sending a total of 10 men to the dish in the frame, the Red Dragons saw three of their five hits in the inning come with two outs. Adam Smith put the visitors ahead for good when he slapped an RBI single to right-center which made it a 2-1 ballgame.
Four more runs came around to score on a Nathan Hart hit coupled with a two-run single by Mark DeMilio before Conrad Ziemendorf lined out to Latulipe at second to put an end to the frame.
Trailing 6-1 headed to the home half of the fourth, Plattsburgh State notched just three more hits and a total of only six more baserunners through the remainder of the skirmish. The Cardinals also grounded into three double plays during the game, limiting their chances to score runs.
At the start of the fifth inning, sophomore
Andrew Kramer scaled to the top of the pitching rubber and did a good job of holding the Red Dragons' ever-changing lineup in check. The Clifton Park, N.Y., product worked his way through the remaining five frames and allowed seven hits, one walk and three runs on 66 pitches.
DeMilio and Keith Andrews each finished with two RBIs for the Red Dragons while ZIemendorf and Smith amassed two hits each. Five pitchers were used by SUNY Cortland, but it was Ferris (3-0) who secured the win by working three innings in which he was charged with four hits and the Cardinals' lone run on 29 pitches.
Flynn dropped to 3-2 with the loss and all but one of his six runs allowed was earned.
Only two games remain on the Cardinals' 2015 schedule and in order to compete in them Plattsburgh State will have to vacate the state of New York. On Tuesday afternoon, the Cardinals will take on Norwich University in a doubleheader at Sabine Field in Northfield, Vt. The non-conference double dip is slated to begin at 2 p.m.
