Box Score Auburndale, FL — A late ninth inning rally by the State University of New York at New Paltz baseball team earned the Hawks a 7-4 win over the Illinois Institute of Technology in day four of the team's trip to Florida.
 
With SUNY New Paltz down 4-3 in the top of the ninth inning, the Hawks came up clutch with four runs to cruise past the Scarlet Hawks. Junior pitcher John Locurto earned the no-decision in a six-inning start, while senior pitcher James Magnuson received the win in relief and junior pitcher Justin Halper earned the save. The Hawks move to 6-3 on the year, playing a doubleheader against St. Joseph's College-Brooklyn Tuesday. 
 "We are starting to compete, which is good to see," said SUNY New Paltz coach Thomas Seay. "We aren't playing clean baseball yet but we are starting to find ways to win and show some grit. A lot of clutch performances tonight."
 
The Hawks got on the board in the first inning after a double by senior first baseman Justin Ganca scored junior outfielder Matt McGee to put SUNY New Paltz up 1-0. The Hawks continued to score in small increments, gaining a run off a sophomore outfielder David Juechter RBI single in the second inning and another run in the fourth off a wild pitch.
 
Locurto threw zeros on the scoreboard until the sixth inning, where the Scarlet Hawks scored three runs, one unearned. Illinois Institute of Technology scored again in the eighth inning to take the 4-3 lead.
 
With the Hawks down to their last three outs, McGee got the rally started with a leadoff double, later scoring on a wild pitch to tie the game at four. Sophomore first baseman Dean Stalzer broke the game open with a two-RBI double, with an RBI fielder's choice putting SUNY New Paltz up 7-4. Halper shut the door, and the Hawks earned their third win of the Florida trip.
 
SUNY New Paltz will play at doubleheader with St. Joseph's College-Brooklyn Tuesday starting at 10:30 a.m.

To stay up to date with everything #NPHawks be sure to follow us on Twitter at @nphawks, Instagram and Facebook at @newpaltzhawks, and subscribe to our Youtube channel, New Paltz Hawks.