PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State baseball team rode an eight-run first to their first home win of the season on Monday, as the Cardinals took down Clarkson 11-7 at Chip Cummings Field. The Cards were at home for the first time this season and had 11 hits and 11 runs over eight innings at the plate to take down the visiting Golden Knights.
Kyle Cremin (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Kennedy Catholic) led the way for the Cardinal offense, going 2-3 with three RBI and two doubles.
Austin Caldwell (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenedehowa) added two hits, two RBI, and two runs, while
Joey Di Rocco (Congers, N.Y./Clarkstown South) drove in two runs and reached base safely three times.
Aidan Diltz (Monroe, N.Y./Monroe Woodbury) had a two-hit game and drove in a run, while
Alex Kornblau (Pound Ridge, N.Y./Fox Lane) was 2-4 with his 34
th career double, which is one off the program record of 35 set by Todd Hughes '08.
On the mound for Plattsburgh,
Kaelen Clarkson (Barrie, Ontario/St. Joseph's Catholic) tossed four scoreless innings, scattering four hits and striking out two.
Tyler Kohn (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Sachem North) followed and earned the win with three innings of work, allowing no earned runs while striking out one.
Drew Romesser (Akron, N.Y./Akron) finished the game on the mound for Plattsburgh State, tossing a scoreless frame and striking out two.
For Clarkson, Joe Figliolino was 3-5 with two runs scored, a double, and a three-run blast in the eighth. Beau Vardion was 2-3 with two runs scored and a double, while both Will Roda and CJ Cartier each had multi-hit outings. Nicholas Hofacker took the loss on the mound, allowing one hit and one run on the mound while striking out three.
Plattsburgh State moves to 6-9 on the season and next hosts VTSU-Castleton on Wednesday, April 9 at 3 p.m. Clarkson falls to 9-10 and will next take on Oswego State on Friday, April 11 in doubleheader action in Oswego.
The Cardinals jumped out to an early lead on Monday afternoon and never lost it, as Di Rocco led the game off with a walk and came around to score on a double by Cremin to deep right-centerfield.
The 1-0 lead held as Clarkson weaved out of trouble on the mound and then threw a four-pitch fourth inning to turn it back over to his offense. The Cardinals responded with eight runs on six hits to take a commanding 9-0 lead.
The inning began with a single by Caldwell to right, an 11-pitch at-bat by
Colin Ross (Mastic Beach, N.Y./William Floyd) that turned into a walk. Diltz followed with a bunt single, and the bases were loaded with no outs. After a strikeout, a groundball up the middle was fielded cleanly by the Golden Knights' second baseman, but on the flip to second, the shortstop missed the bag, and no outs were recorded as Caldwell scored. An RBI walk from
Adam Wein (North Rockland, N.Y/Don Bosco Prep) in the next at-bat was followed by a Di Rocco two-run single, putting Plattsburgh up 5-0. After a pitching change, a strikeout followed, but Cremin walked to reload the bases, and Caldwell, in his second at-bat of the inning, singled for the second time in the inning, scoring two runs. A Ross infield single then scored another run, and Diltz singled home a run, putting the Cards up 9-0.
Plattsburgh tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the fifth as Cremin hit his second double of the game with the bases loaded, scoring two runs and giving the Cards an 11-0 advantage.
The Golden Knights did not go down without a fight, taking advantage of a two-out error in the seventh, which scored two runs and was followed by a Cam Jerrett two-run single. After a scoreless seventh from Tommy DiFranco on the mound, Clarkson came back and scored three more runs on Figliolino's three-run shot to left.
Romesser made quick work of the Golden Knights in the ninth to hold the 11-7 lead, striking out the first batter he faced, inducing a fly out, and then striking out Christopher Griggs to end the game after allowing a two-out single.
