Gowanda, N.Y. - The Plattsburgh State Baseball (14-12, 3-6) team took their first SUNYAC series and first SUNYAC sweep of the year with their 4-3 and 10-3 victories over Fredonia (10-19, 1-13). A balanced offensive effort and some strong pitching performances pushed the Cardinals to victory, as they have now won four straight games. 

Sean Malamud (Staten Island, NY/Susan E. Wagner) picked up the game one win with six strong innings after picking up the save the night before and Chris Santic (Stony Point, NY/North Rockland) was strong in relief in game two, throwing the final 5.2 innings to earn the win. Conner Gonzalski (Cicero, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) had a strong game one effort with two hits and two RBIs and Alex Kornblau (Pound Ridge, N.Y./Fox Lane) continued his strong offensive season with two hits in game two. 

Game One: Plattsburgh 4, Fredonia 3

A three-run second and a single run in the fourth inning was all Malamud needed to clinch his team leading fourth win of the season, as Andrew Veit (Yaphank, NY/Bellport) closed the game out with a scoreless seventh to earn his first save of the season. Malamud tossed six innings, scattering eight hits, allowing three runs, and walking none as the senior struck out four. 

The second inning proved to be the big inning for Plattsburgh as they scored three runs on four straight hits. Back-to-back one out singles from Nick Cergol (Mount Sinai, NY/Mt. Sinai) and Kaden Kowalowski (Plattsburgh, NY/Beekmantown) set the table for Kornblau, who singled Cergol home and put runners on the corners. Gonzalski followed with a double and plated both of the Cardinal baserunners, putting the team up three runs. The team tacked on a very important run in the fourth when Kornblau scampered home on a passed ball.

Two runs in the fourth and a run in the fifth put the Blue Devils on the doorstep of tying the game but Malamud stranded the tying run in scoring position in both the fifth and sixth inning to keep Plattsburgh State ahead. Fredonia once again threatened, this time off Veit in their final at bat, putting the tying run in scoring position and the go-ahead run on first base with two outs. The junior, however, was able to escape the jam inducing a game ending flyout to short. 

Steve Messerschmitt (Fishkill, NY/Carmel) picked up another multi-hit game, his third in four games, with a double and single in game one. 

Game Two: Plattsburgh 10, Fredonia 6

Trailing 4-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, the Plattsburgh offense scored six runs in frame, to take a lead they would not relinquish, picking up the sweep over Fredonia. The three-game sweep was their first over a conference opponent since 2017, when the team swept Fredonia to end their SUNYAC season. 

The Cardinals were the first team to get on the board in the series finale, as Nolan De Melfi (Shirley, NY/ William Floyd) drove in a run with an RBI groundout in the first. The Blue Devils responded with single runs in the second, third, fourth, and fifth innings, to take a 4-1 lead but Plattsburgh State answered in a big way in the top of the sixth. 

An error by Fredonia opened the frame and Kornblau followed with a double to put two runners in scoring position. An error by the Blue Devil shortstop then allowed a run to score and another error on a Christian Ott (Kingston, NY/Kingston) single allowed another run to score and put the deficit at one. After Kyle Cremin (Yorktown Heights, NY/Kennedy Catholic) walked to load the bases, Christian Lent (Miller Place, NY/ Miller Place) singled to bring another run across, tying the game. Mike Rasquin (Garden City, NY/Garden City) followed with a walk to give the Cards the lead, and Veit grounded into a fielder's choice to bring another run home. Finally, Plattsburgh got their final run of the inning with a Kowalowski single that scored Lent, bringing the score to 7-4. 

A two-run homerun in the bottom of the sixth put the Blue Devils behind just one run heading into the final three runs, but once again the Cardinal offense was up to the task of preserving their lead. A one-out error and Aaron Roman (Pelham, NY/Pelham Memorial) double put two runners in scoring position for Plattsburgh State, and both runners eventually scored on a Cremin RBI single and Lent RBI groundout. The team would add their final insurance run in the top of the eighth, as an error from the Blue Devils brought a run home. 

Meanwhile, Santic had settled in on the mound, posting zeroes in the seventh and eighth, as his defense played strong behind him. Santic struck out just one batter, but he did not surrender a single walk, and was able to scatter seven hits for just two earned runs in his 5.2 innings of work. In the ninth, up four runs, the sophomore worked around a two-out single to finish the game and earn his third win of the season. 

Lent and Veit each had a multi-hit game for Plattsburgh, as Lent drove in two runs and scored once, while Veit drove in one run. 

The Cardinals will return to action when they head to New Paltz on Monday for more SUNYAC action beginning at 3 p.m.