A 0-3 start to State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action does not stop the confidence of the State University of New York at New Paltz men's baseball team, as the Hawks look to gain their first conference series win when they take on Oswego State at home Friday and Saturday.

"We're confident going into this weekend," said SUNY New Paltz senior outfielder Danny Campbell. "Our trip down to Florida left us hungry because we felt like we let a few games slip away from us. Now we get a chance to make up for those losses in front of a home crowd." 

SUNY New Paltz is faced with a tall task taking on the Lakers, a team that won the SUNYAC championship and NCAA DIII New England championship last season. Oswego State is currently 9-5 on the 2019 campaign, breezing through its conference schedule so far at 5-1 with two series wins against Plattsburgh State and the The College at Brockport.

The Hawks have had trouble finding success against the Lakers in recent years, getting swept in 2018 with 12-1, 7-0 and 6-4 losses while only earning one win against Oswego State in 2017. With SUNY New Paltz at 0-3 in the SUNYAC after a series sweep by Fredonia State in Florida, the Hawks will need to find success in this series to stay alive for playoff hopes.

The Lakers currently hold the second best batting average overall in the conference at .294, while on defense hold the second best earned run average hurling a 4.46. SUNY New Paltz is not too far behind Oswego State however, holding the fourth best batting average with .269 and fourth best ERA at 4.93.

Although the Hawks got out to a slow start in conference play, SUNY New Paltz knows it is capable of playing high quality baseball, having already taken down highly-thought of programs in Endicott College and New York University during the same day while in Florida. A team that has faced ups and downs already throughout a young season, the Hawks are ready to show the conference what they can really do.

"We're really excited to finally to be able to get out and play at home, especially against a very good opponent in Oswego," said SUNY New Paltz junior pitcher John Locurto. "It's going to be a big series for us in terms of SUNYAC play after we didn't start the way we wanted to against Fredonia. We're going to come out and play with a lot of energy, and just try and compete as best we can in front of the home crowd."

The Hawks will take on the Lakers in the first game of the series at 3 p.m. Friday. The series will continue Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 12 p.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.