New Paltz NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz concluded its first series against a SUNYAC rival this season, taking on SUNY Plattsburgh Friday. 
 
The Hawks looked to continue their offensive barrage in Friday's doubleheader after they put up 11 runs against the Cardinals in game one Thursday. The bats stayed hot in game two, and they were victorious 12-2 in eight innings, but SUNY New Paltz couldn't duplicate the outing in the rubber game and fell, 21-4 in seven innings. 
 
The Hawks got on the board early in the first game of the day, scoring in the second inning when catcher Christopher Sais got on with a walk. Next batter Justin Harvey doubled to right field, which pushed Sais 90 feet away from home. An error by the third baseman enabled Sais to cross home and give the Hawks a 1-0 lead.
 
Both sides remained scoreless until the bottom of the fifth when Anthony Pericolosi cracked his second home run of the year to give SUNY New Paltz a 2-0 lead
 
In the bottom of the sixth, the Hawks looked to increase their lead, and give the pitching more breathing room. Joe Richetti knocked a base hit to right field. Tommy Kreider singled as well to put runners on the corners with one out. A passed ball by Plattsburgh gave SUNY New Paltz its third run of the game, as a passed ball allowed Richetti to score. The Cardinals went to their bullpen and first batter faced, Pericolosi drove home Kreider to give the Hawks a 4-0 lead. Pericolosi stole second, and next batter Michael Boccarossa came through to give his team a 5-0 lead. 
 
 
SUNY New Paltz kept piling on in the bottom of the seventh, Justin and Nick Harvey reached on two knocks with a double and a single, respectively. Kreider added another run when he drove in Justin Harvey and gave the Hawks a 6-0 lead. Michael Ascanio wanted to be part of the fun, and doubled to drive in two. SUNY New Paltz went up 8-0.  
In the eighth the Hawks scored four more capped off by three singles and two doubles to make it 12-2. Kreider capped it off, and Plattsburgh got mercy ruled.
 
On the pitching end, Xavier Zykoff clinched his third win of the season on an unseasonably cold day in March. Zykoff had his best game of the season thus far, as he allowed no runs, induced nine groundouts and only gave up six hits through seven innings, two of which were doubles that came in the first and second innings. Other than that, he had a dominant start. 
 
SUNY New Paltz knocked 21 hits. Kreider went 4-for-5 and drove in two. Pericolosi went 3-for-5 with a homerun and drove in two as well. Sais went 3-for-5 and cashed in one. Xycoff got the win in his best start of the season going seven innings, six hits, no runs, five strikeouts.
 
Game two, was one to put in the rearview mirror as the Hawks lost 21-4 in seven innings. James McGovern made his fifth start of the season, and right away, found himself with two runners on. Two back-to-back singles drove home a run for the Cardinals and were up 1-0 early.
 
The bottom of the first was an interesting one, as the Hawks scored all four of its runs in the game in the inning and remained shut out for the rest of the way. 
 
Richetti reached on an error at third to get the offense started. Kreider golfed a double, which put two runners in scoring position. Ascanio continued to drive home runs in pairs, as he hit in both runners to give SUNY New Paltz a 2-1 lead. Two batters later, Dillon Ristano notched an RBI single to put the Hawks up by two and Ristano later scored on a Justin Harvey double to cap the stretch.
 
For the next three innings, the Cardinals would score 13 runs, including a grand slam and scoring seven more in the seventh inning, which put the game out of reach. SUNY New Paltz used six arms out of the bullpen, including outfielder Alex Ouellette in his first ever pitching appearance in the seventh.
 
On the offensive end, Richetti went 1-for-4. Kreider continued his good hitting, going 2-for-3 with two doubles and Ascanio went 2-for-3 and drove in three.
 
McGovern was handed the loss going two innings and giving up six hits, seven runs — all earned — two walks and no strikeouts.
 
SUNY New Paltz is on the road for two with its first stop at SUNY Maritime on March 26 at 7 p.m.
 

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