Dealing with the inclement weather of Northeast baseball for a better portion of the season, the State University of New York at New Paltz baseball team will look to enjoy warm weather, sunshine and wins when it travels during spring break for the Russmatt Florida Invitational.

The Hawks will play 10 games in six days, competing with Fredonia State, Endicott College, New York University, Illinois Institute of Technology, St. Joseph's College-Brooklyn and Framingham State University. Sitting at 3-0 on the non-conference schedule, SUNY New Paltz will begin State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) play in its first series of the trip against the Blue Devils starting Friday with a double-header scheduled for Saturday.

"This year's team is something special. We've been practicing and playing up to this point with a different swagger than years past," said Hawks senior pitcher Michael Delio. "We know the talent we have and we're ready to get ourselves a ring." 

Playing a series with Fredonia State every year since joining the SUNYAC, SUNY New Paltz has found success against the Blue Devils in the past, splitting the series last year with a 6-3 win and 9-8 loss after the third game was canceled. The Hawks won the series in 2017, beating Fredonia State, 10-7 and 11-5, while losing 2-0.

The Blue Devils, who finished 17-13 overall last year with a 7-10 record in the SUNYAC, are looking for their first playoff berth since 2016. Fredonia State currently sits at 6-5 in 2019 with an undefeated 3-0 conference record after sweeping SUNY Oneonta while in Florida March 10.

SUNY New Paltz has competed with New York University in recent years, sweeping the Violets 6-1 and 3-0 in 2016, while losing 4-2 in the Hawks' first game of the season last year. New York University opened its 2019 schedule with five straight non-conference wins, currently still sitting at 5-0. With an overall record of 28-12 in 2018, the Violets were only 6-10 in the University Athletic Association (UAA) last season.

St. Joseph's College-Brooklyn is another familiar foe for SUNY New Paltz, as the Hawks beat the Bears 20-5 in a non-conference weekday game last season. After finishing 7-28 last year, St. Joseph's College-Brooklyn is currently 2-1-1.
Never playing Endicott College in recent years, the Gulls are 2-2 on the season after beating No. 4 Trinity College, 5-4 and Bates College, 8-0, while also losing to Trinity College twice 8-1 and 14-12. Endicott College was 27-17 in 2018, fallin in the semifinals of the Commonwealth Coast Conference.

SUNY New Paltz has also not played Illinois Institute of Technology recently. The Scarlet Hawks, who finished 15-25 last year, are currently 1-1 in 2019 after dealing with four canceled games on the schedule.

Framingham State University is another unfamiliar opponent for the Hawks. Finishing 21-19 and losing in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference finals last season, the Rams are currently 3-1 on the 2019 campaign.

SUNY New Paltz's first game of the trip will start at 3:30 p.m. against Fredonia State in Lakeland, Florida.

"This weekend is very important for us, it gives us a marker to see where we stand in the conference," said Hawks senior infielder Ryan Frost. "We've been preparing and working hard so far this year, so it's time to show everyone what we got."

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