Hackettstown, NJ — The State University of New York New Paltz bounced back from a tough walk-off loss Friday to take the three-game series from hosting Centenary following a doubleheader Sweep Saturday.
 
The Hawks (3-3 overall) earned the Game 1 win, 9-4 and the Game 2 victory, 10-3. They received excellent pitching throughout the day with their staff giving up a combined 14 hits and six earned runs, buoying both victories.
 
Kiran Paingankar earned the start for the Hawks in Game 1 and went five innings, giving up just four hits and one earned run with four strikeouts and three walks for his first win of the season.
 
The Cyclones held the early 2-0 lead after the fourth, but a big sixth inning galvanized SUNY New Paltz to the win. Matt Sarni started the inning with a lead-off double and following a five-pitch walk to Tommy Poggi, Ryan Muskopf followed with a lined double to left to bring in Sarni. Following a pitching change for Centenary, the Hawks pushed another across after a muffed ball at first on a hit by Wallace Kirkpatrick. Garrett Grathwohl brought Muskopf home on a sacrifice fly two batters later before Joe Richetti capped the inning through the order on a three RBI double down the left field line to clear the bases and fatten the SUNY New Paltz cushion to 6-2.
 
Centenary earned a run back in the bottom of the seventh, but the Hawks added three insurance runs to start the eighth. Back-to-back doubles by Grathwohl and Johhny McHugh ignited the frame, platting two runs across in Grathwohl and Fabian Apicella who reached on an error to lead off. Muskopf then took a ball to the body for a hit-by-pitch, bases loaded RBI that brought McHugh home and solidify the eventual 9-4 final.
Grathwohl led the team offensively, going 2-for-3 with one run and two RBI. Muskopf was hit by pitch three times and added a hit, run scored and two RBI.  
Connor Catania earned the Game 2 start and impressed in his second start of the year after collecting his first win. He threw six innings, gave up just three hits, two walks and one earned run with a career-high seven strikeouts.
 
SUNY New Paltz gave him run support early, scoring in the top of the first and second before breaking the game open in a five-run third inning. Muskopf got the frame started on a leadoff double. Poggi brought him home three batters later on an RBI single to shallow left and with the bases loaded a base on balls by Luca Sieger platted Kirkpatrick. Richetti and Sarni then followed with back-to-back RBI base hits with Apicella capping the inning on a sacrifice fly that scored Sieger to push the lead to 7-0.
 
Kirkpatrick cracked an RBI base hit in the sixth to add onto the advantage. He eventually scored on a Scott Northrop two-RBI single that also platted Grathwohl with the Hawks boasting a 10-0 cushion going into the bottom half. The Cyclones broke up Catania's shutout in the bottom of the sixth on a sacrifice fly, but the sophomore closed the inning on a fly out to limit the scoring.
 
Liam Ryan and Ryan Knieriemen closed the last three innings. Ryan pitched an inning and tallied a shutout with Knieriemen throwing the last two frames, giving up three hits and two earned runs.
 
Sarni finished 3-for-6 with two RBI to lead SUNY New Paltz offensively. Muskopf went 2-for-4 with a run and a stolen base, while Kirkpatrick finished 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI. Apicella added two runs an RBI with a base hit.
 
SUNY New Paltz is back in action Wednesday, playing Bard College on the road at 2:30 p.m.


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