Box Score The State University of New York at New Paltz baseball team picked up a big 7-2 win over Babson College behind a great performance from their pitching staff and some small ball on offense. The victory puts the Hawks back over the .500 mark at 6-5 on the season.

For the fourth time in Florida, SUNY New Paltz got on the board first, this time powered by a Danny Campbell double down the left field line to score Nick DePietro from second. Senior co-captain Conor Donachie got the start for the Hawks and after giving up two hits in the first inning, he found his rhythm and started to mow down the Babson lineup. Donachie went three up and three down in the second, third, and fourth inning, while striking out four of nine batters faced.

The Hawks continued to be aggressive in the bottom of the second as Chris Moran and Anthony Pantano led off with back to back singles. Julian Francisco stepped up to the plate next and laid down a bunt for a single that scored Moran. Head Coach Arlan Freeman continued to have his team play smart and aggressive as junior shortstop Ryan Frost put down another bunt, which forced the Babson catcher into a throwing and allowed Pantano to cross the plate and push the lead to 3-0. 

Donachie remained tough on the mound in the fifth inning and after hitting the leadoff hitter, he retired the next three batters to hold the lead for SUNY New Paltz. In the top of the sixth, Donachie began to lose some momentum, and after allowing two runs, sophomore left-handed pitcher Justin Halper came in and ended the rally for the Beavers to maintain the lead heading into the bottom of the sixth.

Sophomore right-handed pitcher Anthony Amoroso took the mound in the seventh inning for the Hawks and continued to show the strength and depth of the pitching rotation for SUNY New Paltz. Amoroso completed the seventh and eighth inning while only allowing one hit.

In need of some insurance runs, the Hawks added to their lead in the bottom of the seventh. Campbell led off with a single and found himself on third base after a stolen base and a passed ball. Senior co-captain Dwayne Page stepped up with two outs and drove a single to left field bringing home Campbell. Moran kept the inning alive with a single of his own and then Anthony Pantano tripled to center field and scored Page and Moran. The Hawks entered the eighth inning with a 6-2 lead.

Junior outfielder Brian Brenton kept the offensive momentum going for the Hawks with a triple in the bottom of the eighth and then scoring on a wild pitch to push the lead to five runs at 7-2. Junior right-handed pitcher Michael Delio came on in the ninth to close out the game and did just that only allowing one hit.

"Conor Donachie and our pitching staff today put the team on their back," said Freeman. "Conor came out and established his ability to dictate the pace of the game. After putting two guys on in the first inning he embodied our motto of bend don't break and pitched his way out of it."

Donachie picked up the win with 5.1 innings pitched, four hits, two earned runs, and five strikeouts. Halper, Amoroso, and Delio threw a combined 3.2 innings of relief and allowed no runs with only two hits. 

The SUNY New Paltz offense was powered by small ball and timely hitting. Pantano led the way going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a triple. Brenton recorded his first hit of the season with his triple in the eighth, while Moran and Campbell also had solid performances going 2-for-4.

"Our philosophy is to put pressure on the defense," said Freeman. "We've bunted down here really well and executed it almost to perfection. We really exploited them today with the small and we also came up with some clutch hitting with runners in scoring position."

The Hawks get back on the field for their final game in Florida tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. against Western New England University.