New Paltz, NY – The State University of New York at New Paltz baseball team earned a win in its home opener Wednesday on the Loren Campbell Memorial Field, 16-9 over St. Joseph's College-Brooklyn.
 
"We've been playing some tough games and [haven't] been able to scratch much offensively, and today we were able to do some things, be more creative," said Hawks coach Thomas Seay. "We worked hard the last two weeks to really kind of revamp our offense, and it was good to see we put some runs up on the board today. 
 
Senior infielder Micheal Boccarossa hit a single down the third baseline and advanced to second to score Justin Oritz who had previously singled to give SUNY New Paltz an early, 1-0 lead in the first inning. 
 
The Hawks scored one run an inning until the fifth, the only inning they did not score, as they entered the sixth with a solid 4-0 lead. 
 
"So our main strategy is we want to get guys on, we want to move them over, get them in, and I think we did a really good job executing that," said senior designated hitter Jesse Keshner. "We've been practicing all week, just small ball things, and it's really paid off and we're hoping to continue that." 

 
"It felt good to get back out there," he added. "We've been off for almost two weeks, and I felt good at the box. Great job as a team. We did a really good job overall."
 
Keshner aided in the win by going 2-for-5 with three runs and three RBI on two home runs in the game. He's the second Hawk this season to have a multi-home run day, as graduate student Dean Stalzer smashed three in the team's season opening win over Mount Saint Mary to start the year. 
 
Keshner hit a solo home run over the left field fence to start a series of runs in the bottom of the sixth for SUNY New paltz. Stalzer followed with a single and earned an RBI with freshman Joe Patane scoring. Sophomore outfielder Jordan Rios also hit a home run with Boccarossa on base, earning two runs and two RBI. 
 
The Hawks had a dominant performance over the Bears, leaving them scoreless until the top of the seventh. After getting a couple men on base with two outs, they snuck a run through before the inning ended shortly after. 
 
The bottom of the seventh was the largest scoring margin for SUNY New Paltz, as it piled on six more runs. Four of the six runs were accounted for by another two-run home run by Keshner, and a two-run home run by Stalzar as well, which extended the lead, 14-1.
 
St. Joseph's made an impressive close in the gap in the last three innings. Scoring one run in the seventh, two runs in the eighth and six in the ninth. Four of the runs earned by a grand slam with two outs in the ninth. The game ended shortly after when relief pitcher James McGovern made the final strike out, the final score being 16-9. 
 
"First half of the game [was] good. Second half of the game [was] not so good. But to leave today with a win is good. We needed a win," said Saey. 
 
Justin Ortiz helped lead the offense with three hits in six at bats with two runs, two RBI and a stolen base. Michael Boccarossa went 3-for-5 with two runs, three RBI and a walk, while Stalzer finished with two hits, a run and four RBI. Patane also finished with a multi-hit day, going 2-for-3 with two runs, an RBI and a walk. Jordan Rios added a hit, two walks, two runs and two RBI. Ortiz, Patane and Boccarossa each had extra base hits as well. 
 
SUNY New Paltz threw eight different arms with Nick Harvey earning the win after pitching the first two innings, giving up no hits or walks with one strikeout. 
 
The Hawks are back in action this weekend, as they open up SUNYAC play on the road against D3Baseball No. 20 nationally ranked Oswego State. Due to weather the series was pushed to Saturday-Sunday starting at 12 p.m.

Post-Game Interview with Jesse Keshner


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