NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz baseball team looks to bounce back after a sweep at the hands of No. 8 SUNY Cortland, as it hosts The College at Brockport in its 2014 home-opening series at Loren Campbell Memorial Field. This State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) three-game set begins with a 12 p.m. doubleheader on Friday, March 28, and ends with a single game on Saturday, March 29, at 12 p.m.
RECORDS: New Paltz enters the weekend with an overall record of 8-11 and a SUNYAC record of 0-3… The Golden Eagles are 10-3 with a SUNYAC record of 2-1.
SCOUTING THE HAWKS (8-11, 0-3 SUNYAC): New Paltz lost three games to No. 8 SUNY Cortland from Friday-Saturday, March 21-22… The Red Dragon bats pounded out 18 hits in the first game of the series, giving them a 13-3 victory over the Hawks… Cortland rode a four-run first inning in game two to beat the Hawks, 4-0… In the series finale on Saturday, the Hawks fell, 5-0, to the Red Dragons.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS: Junior
Shaun Hansen has been leading the way for the Hawks offensively, batting .357 with a team-high eight doubles… He currently ranks first in the SUNYAC in doubles and is 11th in the conference in batting average… Senior
Steven Morse has also been solid with the bat for New Paltz, as he currently holds a .340 batting average with six RBI and six runs scored… On the mound for the Hawks, junior
Roy Missall and sophomore
Christian Huertas have been excelling… Missall has currently pitched 10 2/3 innings without surrendering a run while only allowing four hits… Huertas has made five appearances for New Paltz, two of those being starts… Over 14 2/3 innings, he has an ERA of 0.61 with a record of 2-0... Huertas is also tied for second in the conference for saves with 1.
TEAM STATISTICS: New Paltz is tied for 15th in NCAA Division III in stolen bases with 43… The Hawks are also ranked second in the SUNYAC in extra-base hits with 42... New Paltz has scored 89 runs, which is good for third in the conference… The Hawks also have 214 total bases, which ranks second in the SUNYAC.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES (10-3, 2-1 SUNYAC): Brockport is coming off of a conference series win against SUNY Oswego, as it won two out of the three games from March 20-21… The Golden Eagles opened up the series by beating the Lakers, 6-2, in a 12-inning thriller… In the 12th inning with the score tied at 1-all, senior Kyle Tracy tripled down the left-field line, scoring two runners to give Brockport the advantage… The Lakers came back in game two to shut out Brockport, 5-0... The Golden Eagles bats exploded for 23 runs to give them the 19-4 victory in the rubber match.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS: Junior Anthony Barbetto leads the team and is currently fifth in the SUNYAC in batting average (.400)… He also has five RBI and 11 runs scored… Sophomore Wesley Burghardt is third in the conference in RBI (13) and is also hitting .347 with six doubles… Senior Mike Gianni currently leads the SUNYAC in walks with 13.
TEAM STATISTICS: The Golden Eagles have a team batting average of .306, which is good for second in the SUNYAC… They are also second in the conference in RBI with 85… Brockport has a team slugging percentage of .400, which is also second in the conference.
LAST MEETING: New Paltz swept the three-game conference series in 2013… The Hawks won two games on March 29, 2013, in Webster, N.Y., by the scores of 9-1 and 3-1… New Paltz won the final game of the series on Saturday, March 30, 2013 by the score of 8-4 in 12 innings… Game recaps from those games are below.
GAME RECAPS:
March 29, 2013March 30, 2013 WHAT'S NEXT: The Hawks next face off against SUNY Oneonta in a SUNYAC matchup on Tuesday, April 1, at 3 p.m. in Oneonta, N.Y., while Brockport hosts SUNY Fredonia on Tuesday at 3 p.m.
COACHES: New Paltz is guided by first-year head coach
Matt Righter, while Brockport is led by sixth-year head coach Justin Beach.
