Box Score (Game 1)
Box Score (Game 2)

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The State University of New York at New Paltz baseball team (8-6) split a doubleheader on its final day competing in the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic on Wednesday, beating Western Connecticut State University (5-3), 4-3, in game one before falling, 14-5, in the nightcap.

Junior leftfielder Philip Parker (Brooklyn, N.Y.) hit a game-ending RBI single in game one against the Colonials in the bottom of the seventh to give New Paltz the victory in the front half of the twinbill.

The Hawks led, 3-0, heading into the top of the seventh, but Western Connecticut's Conor Bierfeldt had a bases-clearing double in the inning to level the tally at 3-all.

Senior pitcher Brett Harrison (Merrick, N.Y.) worked five innings on the hill for New Paltz and held the Colonials scoreless while yielding just three hits, four walks and two hit by pitches. Junior pitcher Nick Monaco (Medford, N.Y.) gained the win after tossing two frames in relief. He gave up three runs on one hit and two walks while striking out five.

Western Connecticut's Mike Baccaro was tagged with the loss, giving up four runs on five hits while striking out six. He also issued four walks. He saw 6 1/3 innings of action on the hill.

Offensively, sophomore center fielder Thomas Pinnola (North Babylon, N.Y.) and Parker each went 2-for-3 for the Hawks in game one. Pinnola scored twice, while Parker drove in three runs. Chris Alberto went 2-for-3 for the Colonials, while Bierfeldt had three RBI off his bases-clearning double.

The second tilt of the day unfolded differently, as the Colonials plated six runs in the second and eight runs in the fourth en route to a 14-5 demolition of New Paltz. Sophomore pitcher Chris Chismar (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) was handed the loss after working four innings and surrendering six runs off five hits and three walks. He also struck out a game-high nine batters. Connor Nolan gave up just five runs, three earned, on 11 hits in 5 2/3 innings of work to capture the victory for the Colonials.

Four New Paltz players had more than one hit, while Bierfeldt lit up the Hawk hurlers by going 3-for-4 with five RBI and one run scored.

The Hawks' State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) three-game set with SUNY Plattsburgh originally scheduled for this weekend (March 26-27) has been postponed due to poor field conditions. Make-up times and dates have not yet been determined. New Paltz's next scheduled game is against Ithaca College on Wednesday, March 30, at 4 p.m. in Ithaca, N.Y.