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CORTLAND, N.Y. – After a one-year hiatus, the State University of New York at New Paltz baseball team (16-17, 12-6 SUNYAC) is back in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Baseball Tournament after the strongest in-conference season in the program's history. The Hawks earned the No. 2 seed for the second time in program history, the last coming in 2001. They will take on No. 3 SUNY Oswego (23-23 12-6 SUNYAC) in the opening matchup on Friday, May 3, at 3:30 p.m. at Robert H. Wallace Field.
 
TICKET PRICING: Single-game ticket prices are $6 for adults, $3 for children 12 and under and free for all SUNY students with ID. An all-session pass can be purchased at the cost of $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under.
 
TOURNAMENT FORMAT: Unlike most SUNYAC Tournaments, the SUNYAC Baseball Tournament follows a double-elimination format. The opening round on Friday pits No. 1 SUNY Cortland against No. 4 SUNY Fredonia and New Paltz against Oswego. The losers of each of Friday's games will face off in game three on Saturday, while the winners will go head-to-head in the fourth game of the tournament. The winner of game four will move on to the championship round, while the loser of game four will then take on the winner of game three for a chance to also move forward into the championship. The final round will take place on Sunday and feature one 2-0 team and one 2-1 team. Should the 2-1 team win, a second game will take place to determine the tournament champion.
 
ACES HIGH: Much of the Hawks' success this season can be attributed to excellent all-around performance from the pitching staff. Senior starter Chris Chismar (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) leads the entire conference with 74 strikeouts on the season. Next in line is junior starter Andrew Grann (Oceanside, N.Y./Oceanside), who has fanned 55 batters on the season. Chismar and Grann are fifth and seventh in the conference among starting pitchers with ERAs of 2.43 and 2.97, respectively. Junior starter Chris Pyz (Kings Park, N.Y./Kings Park) is not far behind, placing 12th with a 3.48 ERA.
 
The bullpen has been a strong suit for the Hawks as well this season. Freshman reliever Brian Solomon (New Windsor, N.Y./Newburgh Free Academy) leads the team with three saves on the season. He also holds an impressive 0.82 ERA as well as an opponents' batting average of .079. Senior reliever John Schmidt (East Islip, N.Y./East Islip) has been effective in both long and middle relief, holding a 2.45 ERA in eight relief appearances.
 
BATTER UP: Senior left fielder Anthony Repetto (North Babylon, N.Y./North Babylon) led the team with a .350 batting average, 41 hits and 15 RBI. From March 24 to April 15, Repetto accumulated a 13-game hitting streak. Senior center fielder Matt Carr (Westbury, N.Y./Long Island Lutheran) was right behind him with a .314 average, and first on the team with a .409 on base percentage. He stole a team-high 15 bases, which was good for second in the SUNYAC. Junior catcher/designated hitter David Lostaglio (Milton, N.Y./Marlboro Central) had the team's highest slugging percentage at .446 thanks to a team-high two triples and six doubles, which ties Carr for the team lead. Senior first baseman Thomas Pinnola (North Babylon, N.Y./North Babylon) hit the team's only two homeruns.
 
TOURNAMENT HISTORY: The Hawks are searching for their first-ever SUNYAC title. New Paltz has an all-time record of 3-8 in the SUNYAC Tournament. The Hawks' last win came back in 2001 when they defeated Utica/Rome in the loser's bracket, 16-13, in a 10-inning thriller. The previous year, the Hawks won two games out of the loser's bracket, but were unable to defeat SUNY Cortland in the final. Their last appearance came in 2011. The fourth-seeded Hawks were eliminated in two games, falling to top-seed Cortland, 6-1, before dropping a close 9-8 decision to No. 2 The College at Brockport.
 
NEW PALTZ VS. OSWEGO: The Hawks swept the Lakers in a three-game series from April 5-6. Pyz earned the win in the first game, going the distance and allowing just one run with seven strikeouts. Game two saw the Hawks jump out to a big lead in the early innings and eventually go on to take a 10-1 decision. Senior third baseman Matt Prescia (Oakdale, N.Y./Connetquot) went 3-for-4 with two RBI and four runs scored in the seven-inning contest. Chismar tossed six innings, allowing just a run while striking out seven. In the final contest, the Hawks took another early lead and never looked back. Pinnola hit his first homerun of the season in the win, adding a double as well to cap off a 2-for-3 afternoon with two RBI and two runs.
 
ABOUT HEAD COACH MATT GRIFFITHS: Griffiths currently owns a 121-140 overall record in seven years at the helm of the New Paltz baseball team. Back in 2010, the SUNYAC coaches named Griffiths the Walter Nitardy Coach of the Year after guiding the Hawks to an 18-18 record a year after they were just 12-24. This is his second time qualifying for the SUNYAC Tournament in his tenure at New Paltz. This year, he led the Hawks to their best SUNYAC record in program history with a 12-6 mark. He has coached 13 All-SUNYAC selections, one Don Axtell SUNYAC Baseball Pitcher of the Year and four American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings All-New York Region Players.
 
SCOUTING THE LAKERS: The Lakers are making their first SUNYAC Tournament appearance since 2001. Oswego enters Friday's matchup with an identical 12-6 SUNYAC record, as well as a 23-13 overall mark. They won their last six SUNYAC contests to earn the third seed in the conference tournament. Mike McMullen leads the team in batting average (.376), hits (41), slugging percentage (.477) and is tied with Mike Stark for the lead in doubles (8). Dan Erne serves as the ace of the Lakers, maintaining a 1.77 ERA, good for second in the SUNYAC. He also leads the team with five wins and 29 strikeouts. The Lakers head into the tournament ranking second in the conference in runs (230), third in batting average (.291) and third in ERA (3.60). Head coach Scott Landers is in his second season at the helm of the Oswego baseball program. In his first season, the Lakers posted an overall record of 20-20, including an 8-10 SUNYAC record, which is much improved from the team's 1-17 conference record from 2011.