BROCKPORT, NY – The State University of New York at New Paltz baseball team could not overcome the play of The College at Brockport's Tom Kretzler's four home run day (three in game one and one in game two) and pitcher Matt McGowan's game two performance as the Hawks lost both games of the Saturday doubleheader 14-4 and 5-0. The games concluded a 3-0 weekend series sweep for the Golden Eagles.  
 
In what was a struggle to contain a potent Golden Eagle offense, particularly in game one, SUNY New Paltz could not figure out Kretzler, who in game one homered off Brandon Bernard with a runner on in the bottom of the first in game and then hit a ball deep to left field of the three-run variety in the second inning. He added another two run shot in the third inning, which put the Golden Eagles ahead 13-0. Kretzler also started the game on the mound, and over six full innings gave up six hits and one earned run while striking out four for his seventh win of the season. 
 
Brockport also received RBI's early on from Ryan and Jason Mansell, Zach Eldred, and James Houlahan, the latter who started the game 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI out of the lead off spot.
 
Connor Olson, on to pitch for Scott Wagner, did a great job in getting Jake Sisto to ground into a double play and Justin Pangburn to ground out to end the fourth inning without the Golden Eagles scoring more runs.
 
The Hawks enjoyed a solid inning at the plate in the fifth, with Dillon Ristano and Matt Laurelli each hitting singles after Tommy Kredier struck out. Michael Boccarossa then drove in Ristano with an RBI single to put SUNY New Paltz on the board. The visitors were looking for more later in the inning when Dean Stalzer, second in the SUNYAC with 11 home runs, stepped up with the bases loaded, but he popped up to first base. 
Brockport scored once again in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single from Nick Pastore, but Olson again got out of the precarious situation with a strikeout of Matt O'Dair. 
 
In the top of the sixth, SUNY New Paltz scored their second run, with Jordan Rios starting things off with an RBI double. Following a fly out from Kreider, Dillon Ristano hit a single off Golden Eagle second baseman Zach Goldberg. In the bottom half, Olson put away Brockport in order. 
 
The Hawks added two more runs in the seventh, as their offense put together their second straight quality inning at the plate. Leo Alvarez started the action off with a double, and Joe Patane drove him in with an RBI single, his first RBI in four games, to make the count 14-3. Ryan Mackle scored Patane on an error for the fourth run of the game for SUNY New Paltz. Golden Eagle reliever Jake Jempty came on to get Ristano to pop up for the final out of the 14-4 contest. 
 
Kretzler finished the game 4-for-4 with a double in addition to his three home runs, and registered a total of seven RBI. The Golden Eagles scored their 14 runs on 15 hits, while the Hawks scored four runs on nine hits. Patane led the charge offensively, connecting in both of his at-bats and tallying one RBI. 
 
SUNY New Paltz's Bobby Ramsey and Brockport's Matt McGowan provided the pitching matchup for the final game of the day, and while both brought their best stuff early, it was McGowan who outlasted and would pick up his fourth win in the 5-0 victory. 
 
The Hawks threatened immediately in the first inning when Leo Alvarez singled and advanced to third base, but McGowan struck Stalzer out to end the inning. In the bottom half, Ramsey allowed a one out single to O'Dair, and after walking Kretzler, got Pastore to fly out. In the bottom of the third, Boccarossa made a great play with two on and one out, chasing a fly ball down on the left side past the third base line. Ramsey then struck out Tiietjen with a beautiful pitch on the outside corner, bringing the inning to a close with the bases loaded. Through three innings, the two sides combined for just three hits total, with Ramsey striking out two batters and McGowan three. 
 
Things opened up for the home team in the bottom of the fourth, with David Belsito hitting a single into right field after Ramsey hit Ryan Voight, and Ryan Mansell bringing both around to score with a two-RBI single. After James McGovern got O'Dair to fly out, Kretzler homered once again, his fourth home run combined on the day and his fifth over the course of the weekend. The Golden Eagles led 4-0 after 5 ½ innings, and scored another run in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single from Voight. 
 
In the top of the sixth, the Hawks tried to get things going with two outs, with consecutive singles from Boccarossa and Patane. However, Stalzer struck out to end the frame. Another opportunity presented itself in the top of the seventh, when Nick Harvey singled into centerfield and his brother Justin Harvey came to the plate with a chance to put SUNY New Paltz's second run on the board. However, McGowan struck out Harvey to end that threat. 
 
Nick Zangara did his best on the mound to keep his team in it, retiring six straight Golden Eagles between the sixth and seventh innings. Olson, too, continuing his impressive day, put away three of four batters to give the Hawks one final chance in the top of the ninth. However, McGowan closed the contest out in strong fashion, striking out Patane, getting John Reece to fly out, and striking out Nick Harvey for the complete game, four-hit shutout. 
 
While the Hawks seemed to have little go their way in both games, they did generate some good chances in both games but were unable to break through against really good pitching while getting solid relief pitching of their own. Zangara was a bright spot in game two, going two innings and getting the Golden Eagles to fly out five times while registering one strike out, as was Olson. They were just unable to crack the code of McGowan though, who gave up just four hits while striking out 10 batters. On the SUNY New Paltz side, Ramsey pitched 3 ⅓, giving up four hits and three earned, striking out two. Offensively, Alvarez, Boccarossa, Patane, and Nick Harvey connected for hits. 
 
The loss put the Hawks record at 14-19, while SUNY Brockport improved to 29-6. SUNY New Paltz, trailing 16-15 Plattsburgh State in the standings, needs a big bounce back win against New York University on Wednesday before a big weekend series May 6-7 at home against 26-10 SUNY Cortland. 

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