Cortland, NY -- After a junior outfielder Julian Francisco single and two walks got the bases loaded in the top of the first inning with one out, the State University of New York At New Paltz baseball team was in a perfect position to put SUNY Cortland against the ropes early in game-one of the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) series. Unfortunately, the Hawks could not come up with a run, allowing the Red Dragons to score three that half inning and continue to lead the pace in a 9-2 victory over SUNY New Paltz.

"If we executed better then we could have been up 2-0 instead of down 3-0 and the complexion of the game would have been different," said Hawks coach Thomas Seay. "We need to execute better when we have opportunities, especially when we play quality opponents."

With a double play ending the top of the first inning for the Hawks, SUNY Cortland got to business in the bottom half, scoring two runs on back-to-back doubles and another on a RBI groundout to take the 3-0 lead. After the Red Dragons struck out the side in the top of the second, their offense came back for more on an RBI double to advance the lead to 4-0.

SUNY New Paltz went 1-2-3 again in the third inning, but senior pitcher Justin Stybel settled in for the Hawks, pitching a scoreless frame to keep his team in the game. SUNY New Paltz had an opportunity in the fourth inning with junior catcher and outfielder Matt McGee on first base, but he was unfortunately picked off to take away all momentum from the Hawks offense.

Another scoreless inning from Stybel allowed SUNY New Paltz to get on the board in the top of the fifth inning, with senior first baseman Justin Ganca starting the inning off by getting hit by a pitch and senior infielder Ryan Frost following with a single. Freshman infielder Mike Boccarossa got Ganca across on a sacrifice fly, but Frost was picked off while on first base to end the inning.

SUNY Cortland's offense surged in the bottom half of the fifth, starting the inning off with three singles to load the bases with no outs. A three-RBI double, an RBI single and a run on a wild pitch did the trick for the Red Dragons, extending their lead to 9-1 to never look back.

Boccarossa tacked on another run for the Hawks in the seventh inning on an RBI single, but it would not be enough to rally a comeback. SUNY Cortland took game one 9-2, and looks to get the series win tomorrow at home with its impressive 10-0 SUNYAC record.

Game one of the doubleheader Saturday starts 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.