Box Score New Paltz, NY – The State University of New York at New Paltz baseball team opened up its home field in the 2018 season with a bang by defeating St. Joseph's College – Brooklyn 20-5 Wednesday. The offensive explosion was backed by 20 hits from nine different batters with 10 different players registering at least one RBI.
 
"I'm proud of the guys for coming out with energy on the first mid-week game," said head coach Arlan Freeman. "Going into Oswego it allows us to have some confidence with conference play starting up."
 
Junior right-handed pitcher Justin Stybel got the start on the mound and pitched out of a jam with two men on base in the opening frame. The Hawks then jumped all over the Bears starting pitcher, racking up five hits and seven runs in the bottom half of the first inning. Senior outfielder Nick DePietro got the ball rolling in the lead-off slot with a single to left field and a stolen base to get in scoring position. After a walk from Danny Campbell, senior third baseman Jake Williams hit a shot to right field and scored both runners. Anthony Pantano and Dwayne Page also picked up RBIs in the first inning, while DePietro got to the plate a second time and singled again to score two more runs and cap off the powerful start to the game.
 
After Stybel forced a ground ball double play to close out the top of the second inning, SUNY New Paltz continued to add to its lead. Freshman designated hitter Dean Stalzer hit a bomb to left field and scored Pantano and Chris Moran to extend the lead to 9-0.
 
Senior left-handed pitcher Brian LoRusso took the mound in the third and kept the defensive momentum going with a 1-2-3 inning. In the bottom half, Williams doubled again to put the Hawks in double digits with a 10-0 lead.
 
Jeff Sarra took the reins in the fourth inning and continued to mow down the Bears offensive lineup, but in the top of the fifth, St. Joseph's finally struck back, plating two runs. The Hawks offense answered right back though and put up another big inning with six runs scored. Junior shortstop Ryan Frost scored the first on some aggressive base running, and then Campbell knocked in the second run with a well hit single to left field. Stalzer also added an RBI in the inning while the other two runs crossed the plate from errors caused by the constant pressure applied by the SUNY New Paltz offense.
 
Despite leading 16-2, the Hawks weren't done yet and tallied four more runs in the bottom of the sixth behind a couple of hard hit doubles from John McCarrick and Brian Brenton.
 
"The biggest thing I took away from it was when they scored two runs in the fifth we scored six runs and then four the next inning," said Freeman. "Every time they hit us, we hit them back even harder and that is something that great teams do. We were very aggressive on pitches that were in the zone and it was a great team win, everybody played and everybody contributed."
 
The dominant offensive lineup for SUNY New Paltz was led by Williams and Stalzer, who both recorded three hits and three RBIs. Frost also chipped in three hits with two runs scored, while Brenton and DePietro rounded out the highlights for the offense, each going 2-for-3 with two hits and two RBIs.
 
"We knew we were going to face some slower pitchers so the important things we worked on were staying level and not trying to do too much and hit home runs," said Williams. "We just tried to hit the ball hard and let everything else just take care of itself."
 
The Hawks threw eight pitchers in the game, with Stybel getting the win on two innings pitched and no runs allowed. LoRusso, Sarra, John LoCurto, and Anthony Amoroso all threw scoreless innings in relief.
 
"It feels great," said Williams. "We had a good home crowd and we've been on turf and in Florida, so to come home and see all the fans and to hear the walk out songs; the little things like that as a senior is what means the most."
 
SUNY New Paltz opens up SUNYAC play this weekend against Oswego State Friday at Monroe Community College and then back at Oswego's home field Saturday for a doubleheader. Be sure to follow @nphawks on Twitter and @newpaltzhawks on Instagram and Facebook for updates, highlights, videos, photos and more.