PLATTSBURGH, N.Y – After the Fredonia Blue Devils took a three-run lead into the bottom of the eighth, the Plattsburgh State baseball team took advantage of a couple Fredonia errors to score seven, eighth inning runs and take down the Blue Devils 11-7 in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action on Senior Day. The Cardinals will look for a series win tomorrow against Fredonia, as the teams will begin their doubleheader at 10 a.m. at Chip Cummings Field.
The Cardinals honored 13 seniors on Saturday, a class that has led to a recent resurgence in the baseball program as the team posted two of the best seasons in the last 10 years for the program in 2022 and 2024. The team celebrated
Logan Avin (Honolulu, Hawaii / Waterford (Conn.)),
TJ Beninati (Suffern, N.Y./Suffern),
Kyle Cremin (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Kennedy Catholic),
Joey Di Rocco (Congers, N.Y./Clarkstown South),
Christian Diaz (Middletown, N.Y./Iona Prep),
Aidan Diltz (Monroe, N.Y./Monroe-Woodbury),
Josh Foglia (Latham, N.Y./Shaker),
Nick Goldberg (Commack, N.Y./Commack),
Alex Kornblau (Pound Ridge, N.Y./Fox Lane),
Kolby Mordecki (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham),
Zach Rainville (Saranac, N.Y./Saranac),
Justice Suafoa (Kinderhook, N.Y./Ichabod Crane), and
Adam Wein (North Rockland, N.Y./Don Bosco Prep). The team will also graduate two graduate students who were honored last season in
Ben Catrambone (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) and
Tyler Kohn (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Sachem North).
In a day to honor seniors, the senior class showed out for the Cardinals, led by Foglia, who drove in four runs and was 2-4, and supported by Cremi,n who was 3-4 with three runs scored and Wein who was 3-4 with an RBI and run scored. Mordecki earned the start and was solid, going 7.2 innings, allowing just three earned runs while striking out four. Avin earned the win getting out of a mess in the top of the eighth, and Goldberg closed out the win with a scoreless ninth, striking out two.
For Fredonia, Alex Tucker drove in three runs and was 2-5 as he opened the scoring with a three-run homer. Vinny Grazioplene was 2-3 with an RBI, a run scored, and a walk, and starter Morgan Zientara went six innings, allowing four earned runs and striking out three.
Plattsburgh improves to 11-20 (3-13 SUNYAC) and Fredonia falls to 10-22 (3-13 SUNYAC) and the teams will meet tomorrow at 10 a.m. for a SUNYAC doubleheader.
After each team had already warmed up at the field early Saturday morning and pushed the game time back to 4 p.m., the two SUNYAC rivals put together three quick innings to begin the action. In the top of the fourth, Fredonia finally broke open the scoring as an infield hit and error set up Tucker's three-run blast to put his team up 3-0.
The Cardinals immediately responded in the bottom of the frame, as both Cremin and Kornblau singled and came around to score on a Foglia two-run single after
Colin Ross (Mastic Beach, N.Y./William Floyd) walked to load the bases. After a fielder's choice, the Cardinal threat was ended when a
Michael Piccirillo (Glen Cove, N.Y./Glen Cove) lined shot up the middle was snagged by the pitcher, who doubled off the runner out at first to end the frame.
In the fifth, Christian Cabrera singled home a run, putting Fredonia up 4-2, but Plattsburgh was able to tie the game in the sixth, once again on a two-run single from Foglia that scored both Cremin and Kornblau.
A scoreless seventh inning led to the eighth, where Fredonia scored three unearned runs as two errors set up the inning for the Blue Devils and gave them a 7-4 advantage.
Plattsburgh wasted no time responding in the ensuing half-inning, as Ross led the frame off with a bloop single and was pinch-run for by Catrambone. Foglia followed with a routine fly ball to left that was dropped, and Rainville pinch ran for him. With two runners on, Beninati then doubled down the right field line, scoring Catrambone and putting the game-tying run in scoring position in the process. A wild pitch then scored Rainville, and Piccirillo drew a walk and then stole second base, putting the go-ahead run in scoring position, along with the game-tying run being just 90 feet away.
After a groundout, the Blue Devils opted for a pitching change, and Wein greeted the new pitcher with a safety squeeze bunt that was so excellent, the defense did not have a play anywhere, giving Wein an RBI bunt single and tying the game, 7-7. Di Rocco then gave the Cardinals the lead as he hit a slow grounder up the middle, giving the Blue Devils the option of just one out while allowing Piccirillo to score and giving Plattsburgh the lead. On the play, Fredonia tried to get the out at second base, but the throw went into center field, allowing everyone to reach and advance safely to the next base. Cremin was next up, and the senior hit a ball about six feet in front of home plate, but the Fredonia pitcher had no play at first. Wein tried to score on the play from third base and would likely have been out at home, but the pitcher threw the ball away, allowing him to score and extending the Cardinal lead to 9-7. After a groundout, Catrambone came up after being a pinch runner in the inning and singled up the middle to score two runs, putting the Cards up 11-7.
Goldberg entered in the ninth for the Cards and worked around a one-out single to strike the next two batters he faced, giving Plattsburgh the come-from-behind win.
