SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State baseball team headed south to take on Skidmore Wednesday afternoon, falling to the Thoroughbreds by a 14-6 score.
Skidmore scored at least one run in every inning between the third and the seventh, including a six-run third in which nine Thoroughbreds came to bat.
The game remained scoreless through the first two innings of play as Cardinal starter
Jon Bixby gave up just one hit in that span. In that home third, however, the Thoroughbreds pounded five hits, highlighted by a Mike LaVita three-run home run that made the score 6-0.
Plattsburgh State closed the gap a little in the fourth, as three straight singles by
Frank Finkbeiner,
Jon Craft, and
Ryan Whalen produced two Cardinal runs.
Bixby wouldn't fare much better in the fourth though as he allowed back-to-back singles and a walk to start the bottom of the fourth before his afternoon was over.
Mitch Crispens would come on, and allowed three RBI singles in the frame, pushing the Thoroughbreds' lead to 9-2.
The Cardinals scored a pair for the second consecutive inning in the fifth.
Kilvio Garcia began the inning with a single and then proceeded to steal second and third base before scoring on a
Billy Rombauts groundout.
Skidmore had an answer every time Plattsburgh State scored in the top of an inning, as it regained a seven-run lead by scoring twice in the bottom of the fifth. The Thoroughbreds added two more in the sixth to go up 13-5. Cardinal pitcher
Eric Rock would walk three batters in that frame.
Craft went 3-for-4 with an RBI and
Frank Finkbeiner finished 2-for-5, driving in a run for the Cardinals, who had 10 hits in the defeat. Garcia reached base safely in three of his four at-bats, going 1-for-2 with a pair of walks and scoring a pair of runs. Rombauts drove in two runs for Plattsburgh State, who fall to 3-22 on the season.
The Cardinals will play at defending national champion Cortland this weekend against the third-ranked Red Dragons in a weekend SUNYAC series. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at noon before wrapping up the set with a game on Sunday morning at 11 a.m.
