MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - The Plattsburgh State baseball team fell in the final game of their spring trip to Myrtle Beach, losing to New England College 12-6 in non-conference play. The Cards led 6-5 heading into the bottom of the seventh, but a six-run inning and an additional run in the eighth gave the Pilgrims the Saturday morning win.

Justice Suafoa (Kinderhook, N.Y./Ichabod Crane) was 2-3 for the Plattsburgh Cardinals as the transfer sophomore tripled, drove in a run, scored, and walked for the Cards on Saturday. Mike Rasquin (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) and Kyle Cremin (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Kennedy Catholic) each had two hits, with Rasquin scoring a run and Cremin doubling twice. First-year Will Baumann (Albany, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy) registered the first two hits of his collegiate career in the loss, as the Albany native singled twice. Sean Malamud (Staten Island, N.Y./Susan E. Wagner) went 5.1 innings for Plattsburgh in his third start of the season, as he struck out seven and gave up four runs. 

The Cards move to 4-7 with the loss and will next travel to Oneonta for a huge State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) series, with play beginning on Friday, March 24 at 3 p.m. The Pilgrims of New England College move to 3-6 with the win and will next play defending national champions Easter Connecticut State on March 21. 

The Pilgrims pushed two runs across to begin the game's scoring, getting runs in the first and second innings to lead 2-0. That lead held into the fourth inning until Plattsburgh got a run off a Conner Gonzalski (Cicero, N.Y./Cicero-North Syracuse) sac fly and Suafoa tripled home a run in the fifth to tie the score at two runs apiece. The Cards took the lead in the following inning when Nick Cergol (Mount Sinai, N.Y./Mount Sinai) brought home Cremin with a sacrifice fly. 

In the bottom of the sixth inning, New England retook the lead with a bases-clearing triple from pitch-hitter Tim Krol that brought in three runs for the Pilgrims. The Cardinals were once again able to respond, this time with a huge double from Alex Kornblau (Pound Ridge, N.Y./Fox Lane) as he plated three Plattsburgh baserunners to once again put the Cards up a run.

In the following frame, the Pilgrim's bats awoke as they scored six runs on five hits to take a commanding five-run lead against three Plattsburgh relievers. The Cardinals were able to load the bases in the top of the eighth with two outs, but couldn't scratch a run across to hold the deficit at five runs.  The Pilgrims then added a run in the bottom of the eighth to stretch their lead to six as Plattsburgh stranded a runner in the ninth to fall 12-6.

Austin Hazzard earned the win for the Pilgrims as he went seven innings, giving up six runs on nine hits while striking out six while Eric Agan (Burnt Hills, N.Y./Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake was tagged with the loss for the Cards. The Pilgrims were able to collect seven extra-base hits as three players had three-hit games for New England College.