Oswego, NY – The State University of New York at New Paltz traveled to Lake Ontario Friday for the final regular season series of the year, taking on No. 2 in its SUNYAC Division, SUNY Oswego, on Laker Baseball Field.
 
The Hawks (24-13 overall) came off a historic victory Wednesday, earning the most wins in a single-season history (23) after defeating Mount Saint Mary College in their home finale on Loren Campbell field.  And on friday, backed by hot hitting from Fabian Apicella and Tommy Kreider, as well as limiting the bullpen to one arm, the Hawks added to their historic season win total with a 10-7 win against the Lakers and solidifying their spot in the SUNYAC Tournament for the first time since 2018. 
 
Xavier Zykoff was on the hill Friday, looking for his fourth win of the year. The Lakers led off with back-to-back singles in the bottom of the first, putting Zykoff in an instant jam. An error by Michael Boccarossa at second allowed the first run of the game to come in and score, giving Oswego a 1-0 lead. Zykoff picked up two outs on a flyout to Michael Ascanio and a strikeout looking. Oswego drove in two more on two errors by Apicella and Dillon Ristano. 
 
In the top of the third, Apicella reached on a one-out single to center. Wallace Kirkpatrick stepped up and cracked a single to right field to score Apicella and put SUNY New Paltz on the board. Nick Harvey followed and lined a single past short, moving Kirkpatrick to third. Looking to cut the lead in half, Kreider lined an RBI double to right field, scoring Kirkpatrick and cutting the deficit to 4-2. 
 
Ristano led off the bottom of the fourth and lined a lead-off single to center. Justin Harvey then singled to left putting two on base with no outs and a golden opportunity to even the score. Apicella then cracked a base hit to center, loading the bases with no one out before Nick Harvey hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Ristano, trimming the deficit to one.  Kreider stepped up and made sure to tie the game, lining an RBI single to left, scoring Justin Harvey and evening the score at four. 
 
Kreider socked his third hit of the game in the top of the sixth, lining a double down the left field line. Ascanio followed and singled to first, moving Kreider 90 feet away from home. Anthony Pericolosi reached on a fielder's choice to score Kreider and give the Hawks their first lead of the day 5-4.  
In the bottom half of the inning, Zykoff surrendered a leadoff single. After the runner moved to second on a stolen base, the Lakers lined an RBI base knock to even the score at five. Zykoff escaped the inning on a fly out turned into a double play by Nick Harvey, and a 6-4 putout.
 
Tied at five in the seventh, Justin Harvey looked to put SUNY New Paltz on top. He got the inning started with a leadoff walk. Apicella followed, and lined his third hit of the game on a base hit to center, moving Harvey to third. After Justin Ortiz took over in the fifth for Kirkpatrick, he drove home Harvey on a sacrifice fly to left to give the Hawks a 6-5 lead. Next batter Nick Harvey lined a double to right center, moving Apicella into scoring position. Kreider cashed in on the golden opportunity for an insurance run and hit a sacrifice fly of his own, to extend the lead to two. Three straight singles for the Hawks extended the lead to 10-5.
 
Right-hander Matt Sarni took over in his 16th appearance of the year in the bottom of the seventh. Sarni retired the lead off batter on a strikeout swinging. The next batter lined a single to center. Sarni set down the second out on another strikeout swing. With one out to get, Sarni surrendered a two-run home run to cut the SUNY New Paltz lead to 10-7.
 
Sarni stayed on for the bottom of the ninth and was greeted by back-to-back singles. Those base hits didn't affect him as he picked up a strikeout swinging for the first out. With two outs to get, the Lakers grounded into a fielder's choice erasing the leadoff runner on the 6-4 putout. One out away from the win, Sarni retired the third out on a swinging strikeout securing the 10-7 win for SUNY New Paltz. He registered his fifth save of the season, which set a new single season program record, while the Hawks tallied their first win over the Lakers since 2017.
 
Zykoff was handed his fourth win of the year after going six innings allowing nine hits, five runs – only one being earned and two walks with two strikeouts.
 
Kreider went 3-for-5 with three RBI and a run scored. Ascanio went 3-for-6 with an RBI and a run scored. Pericolosi went 1-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored. Apicella went 4-for-5 with two runs scored.

SUNY New Paltz continue its final regular season series of the year with a doubleheader Saturday against Oswego. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. on Laker Baseball Field.



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