Box Score New Paltz, NY — In a much-needed game, the State University of New York at New Paltz baseball team earned a strong 6-1 win against The College of Brockport to win the season series and remain in control of their playoff destiny.
 
"We came out and played with a sense of urgency," said Hawks coach Thomas Seay. "We don't have a lot of opportunities left and we can't let an opportunity to win a series slip away. That sense of urgency was the difference today." 
 Senior pitcher Michael Delio cruised through the top of the first inning with a 1-2-3 slate and two strikeouts, but the right-hander could not get out of the second without giving a run to the Golden Eagles on a wild pitch and an RBI groundout to go down early, 1-0. With Delio continuing to cruise throughout the game with just that single run on his line, the Hawks just couldn't get the offense going until late in the day.
 
Delio faced his first true tough spot in the top of the seventh inning, where the bases were loaded after one Brockport batter singled and two others reached on errors. A left-handed batter coming up with two outs, coach Seay turned to junior lefty reliever Justin Halper to get SUNY New Paltz out of the jam. He got the job done, stranding three Golden Eagle runners by forcing a groundout and brought the Hawks into the dugout with momentum on their side.
 
Junior catcher and outfielder Matt McGee set the tone for SUNY New Paltz in the bottom of the inning, leading off with a walk and then advancing to second on a wild pitch. Sophomore first baseman Dean Stalzer then came up next and got the Hawks first run on the board with an RBI double to tie the game at one.
 
After The College at Brockport made a pitching change, SUNY New Paltz's offensive onslaught continued with an RBI single from junior outfielder Julian Francisco to take the lead. The Hawks racked on more off a walk with the bases loaded, a run on a wild pitch and a senior outfielder Danny Campbell single to go ahead 5-1 and control the pace of the game from there on out.
 
"We all want to be the guy that steps up," Stalzer said. "Danny [Campbell's] been showing a lot of leadership and wants to make a point that everyone should want to be the guy, and everyone for the most part stepped up today and got the job done."
 
Halper worked quickly in the top of the eighth, not allowing a hit and giving SUNY New Paltz another chance to extend the lead. A sacrifice fly by senior infielder Ryan Frost did just that, moving the lead to 6-1 and putting the dagger in the Golden Eagles.
 
A 1-2-3 inning by Halper in the top of the ninth inning sealed the deal for the Hawks, winning the game 6-1 and taking their first State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) series win of the year. SUNY New Paltz moves to 10-10 on the season and 2-7 in the conference with the victory.
 
"This is a big win. We started off the season kind of rough so we really needed this one," Halper said. "We've been working for this and knew we were capable of it so to finally achieve it was a great thing."
 
The Hawks next matchup on the schedule will be against Skidmore College Wednesday at 4 p.m. at Loren Campbell Memorial Field. 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.