PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State baseball team dropped a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) twin bill against defending conference champion New Paltz on Friday afternoon at Chip Cummings Field. The Cards could not quiet the superb Hawks' offense over the 17 innings of play, who now carry a .348 batting average as a team and a .958 on-base plus slugging percentage.

Plattsburgh did receive some solid starting pitching, beginning with Kolby Mordecki (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) turned in a quality start for the Cards in game one, taking a hard luck loss, as he allowed just three runs in six innings of work while striking out five. For his career, he is now just one strikeout away from 100. Kaelen Clarkson (Barrie, Ontario/St. Joseph's Catholic) was solid in game two, going five innings and striking out three while four earned runs were charged to his ledger.

The Cardinals fall to 6-12 (0-5 SUNYAC), while New Paltz improves to 19-8 (8-2 SUNYAC). With inclement weather set to come tomorrow, the two teams will meet again tomorrow at 10 a.m. at Chip Cummings Field for the final game of the three-game set.

Game One: New Paltz 8, Plattsburgh 1

New Paltz scored two runs in the first, and that was all they would need as they held the Cardinals to one run on five hits in game one of the twin bill on Friday. First-year Kiran Paingankar went seven strong innings, allowing no earned runs and striking out eight to earn his second win of the season for the Hawks.

Josh Foglia (Latham, N.Y./Shaker) had the only multi-hit outing of game one for the Cards, going 2-4, while Adam Wein (North Rockland, N.Y./Don Bosco Prep) was 1-3 and scored the only run. Alex Kornblau (Pound Ridge, N.Y./Fox Lane) had the lone Plattsburgh RBI with a sacrifice fly in the fifth. Kwintin Nurse (Wynantskill, N.Y./Troy) had a solid relief outing for Plattsburg, tossing 1.1 scoreless frames.

Michael Ascanio was 2-4 with three RBI, two runs scored, two stolen bases, and a double, to lead the Hawks' potent offense, while Tommy Kreider was 2-4 with three runs scored and two stolen bases. Wallace Kirkpatrick was 2-5 with two RBIs for the Hawks, and Matt Sarni had a double and was 2-4.

A wild pitch and RBI single in the first inning gave the Hawks an early 2-0 lead, and those two runs would stand as Paingankar and reliever Tyler Lopez, who tossed two scoreless innings, were outstanding. The Hawks took a 3-0 lead in the third on a sacrifice fly from Dillon Ristano, but Mordecki settled in after that, holding the Hawks scoreless to finish his outing with six solid innings of work.

In the fifth, a leadoff single from Wein was followed by a passed ball, and then the senior was moved over to third on a sacrifice bunt. A sacrifice fly followed for Kornblau, and the Cards put themselves back within two runs.

After Mordecki exited, the New Paltz offense scored five total runs off the Plattsburgh bullpen, putting up three runs on five hits in the seventh and two runs on three hits in the eighth.

The 8-1 lead was unblemished as Tyler Lopez pitched the eighth and ninth for the Hawks, allowing no hits and no runs to give his team the game one win.

Game Two: New Paltz 15, Plattsburgh 4 (8 inn.)

With the Cards leading 3-1 heading into the top of the sixth, the New Paltz offense rallied for eight runs to take the lead and then added on with six runs in the eighth to run rule the Cards in game two and take the series win.

Kyle Cremin (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Kennedy Catholic) had two runs batted in for Plattsburgh, and Michael Piccirillo (Glen Cove, N.Y./Glen Cove) was 2-3 with a run scored, an RBI, and a stolen base.

For the Hawks, Ascanio was 4-5 with 3 RBI, doubling, scoring twice, and adding two stolen bases. Kreider was 3-5 with three runs scored and three stolen bases, and Anthony Pericolosi was 3-6 with two runs scored and an RBI. Sarni drove in four runs as he had a bases clearing double in the eight-run sixth.

After two scoreless frames on both sides, Plattsburgh scored three times in the third despite just two hits. Piccirillo led the inning off with a single and stole second, and moved over to third on a sacrifice bunt. After a strikeout, Joey Di Rocco (Congers, N.Y./Clarkstown South) was hit by a pitch, and Kornblau worked a fantastic at-bat for a walk. With the bases now loaded, a passed ball scored a run, and Cremin then followed with a two-run single up the middle, putting the Cards up 3-0.

New Paltz added a run in the fifth with as Kreider singled with two outs, stole second, and then scored on an Ascanio single.

The sixth inning was disastrous for the Cards as the Hawks scored eight runs on six hits and one error, giving themselves a huge cushion with a strong offensive inning. The eighth inning was just as fruitful for New Paltz, as they added six runs on six hits to go up 15-3 heading into the home-half of the eighth.

The Cards did rally in the eighth, as the Cards had back-to-back one-out walks, and TJ Beninati (Suffern, N.Y./Suffern) had a bloop single to load the bases. Piccirillo followed with a sharp hit ground ball in the hole, beating the throw to first for an RBI single, but the Hawks turned a double play to end the game on the next play.