Box Score New York, NY – The State University of New York at New Paltz baseball team was unable to capitalize with runners in scoring position and fell in their season opener to NYU, 4-2. 
 
Senior outfielder Nick DePietro led off the game for the Hawks with a rocket down the left field line, but as he tried to stretch the double into a triple he was thrown out. SUNY New Paltz remained locked in despite the momentum swing, as freshman second baseman Anthony Pantano drew a walk and stole second base to get in scoring position with senior third baseman Jake Williams at the plate. Williams singled to left field and kept the aggressive base running going, as he stole second as well. Senior first baseman Chris Moran drew a walk to load up the bases with one out, but a ground ball double play ended the inning and left the Hawks with nothing to show for their efforts.

"Our philosophy is to be aggressive and smart so Nick wanted to be aggressive on that first play to try and reach third," said SUNY New Paltz coach Arlan Freeman. "Not getting any runs up was pretty huge because we had a chance to jump out and throw a crooked number up on the board."
 
Senior co-captain Conor Donachie got the start for the Hawks, but the Violets came out swinging. Five batters in, Donachie and the defense found themselves dealing with a bases loaded one-out situation as well. A hard driven ground ball to Williams at third allowed SUNY New Paltz to turn a 5-2-3 double play and get out of the jam.
 
Despite three hits, four stolen bases, and four walks combined between the two teams, the score remained knotted at 0-0 going into the second inning.

NYU was the first to strike with an RBI single in the bottom of the third inning. Two innings later, Donachie left the mound with a runner on base and NYU was able to capitalize against senior left-handed pitcher Brian LoRusso and punch in two more runs, pushing the lead to 3-0. 

The Hawks offensive pressure let up in the seventh and eighth inning, as they failed to get on base. But, down 4-0 in the top of the ninth the rally caps were on. Two straight walks set the stage for a Danny Campbell single to left field, giving SUNY New Paltz the bases loaded with nobody out. After another double play was recorded, the Hawks were down to their final out with junior shortstop Ryan Frost up to bat. Frost's speed forced a throwing error from the shortstop and Campbell and Justin Halper scored, bringing the score back within two runs. Unfortunately, the rally ended there with a fly out to right field and NYU took the win.

SUNY New Paltz left eight runners on base in the game, including six in the first five innings. Campbell led the offense, going 3-for-4 on the day with two singles and a double. Donachie threw 4.1 innings, giving up three hits and two earned runs. In relief, LoRusso threw three innings and allowed two earned runs, while Luke Christy finished out the game with .2 innings pitched.

"We left a lot of runners on base, but NYU was a good club and they executed where we didn't," said Freeman. "This game will help us in the long run because we learned about our team and we will improve from this experience."

The Hawks get right back on the field Saturday against SUNY Purchase with a double-header beginning at 11 a.m. For updates, highlights, videos, photos and more, follow @nphawks on Twitter and @newpaltzhawks on Instagram and Facebook.