Oswego, NY — The State University of New York New Paltz saw its 2026 season come to an end Sunday after falling in Game 2 of its best-of-three series against hosting No. 2 seed Oswego, 8-1.
Similar to their 7-2 Game 1 loss Saturday, the Hawks offense struggled. They registered one hit through eight-plus innings and finished with just two base hits on the day. The Lakers, in turn, got on the board early and held on as they totaled 10 hits to add to their comfortable margin to advance onto the SUNYAC Championship round against No. 1 SUNY Cortland next weekend.
Kiran Paingankar earned the start for SUNY New Paltz and threw 4.1 innings, allowing six hits, five earned runs, three walks and two strikeouts.
After a 1-2-3 inning to start the top of the first, Oswego capitalized in the bottom half with a leadoff walk and a base hit, eventually bringing its first runs across three batters later on a two-RBI base hit through the left side. Paingankar held the Lakers off until the fourth, as a one-out triple rifled to left field was brought home on a sacrifice fly to cushion the hosts lead, 3-0.
Dylan Hayes came into relieve Paingankar after the sophomore allowed two more in the fifth, and Hayes stranded a runner to get out of the inning with the Lakers up, 5-0. Oswego led off the sixth with a double and it played small ball to get the run across, as a sacrifice bunt moved the runner over before another bunt brought the base runner home. Hayes allowed a base hit that brought home another run, and Oswego took a 7-0 advantage into the eighth.
Gallery: (5-3-2026) Baseball vs. Oswego SUNAYC Semifinal G2
Connor Catania pitched a perfect seventh before senior
Xavier Zykoff closed out the eighth. The Hawks answered with some run support in the top of the ninth, thanks to a lead-off walk from
Joe Richetti.
Garrett Grathwohl also walked two batters later before
Johnny McHugh registered SUNY New Paltz's first RBI of the game with a rip through the left side to plate Grathwohl. The offense stalled there following a Lakers pitching change and the score finalized, 8-1 to end the Hawks' final hopes of a second SUNYAC title.
McHugh and
Tommy Poggi were the only players for SUNY New Paltz to register a hit in the game with Grathwohl tallying a walk and a run scored to lead the team offensively.
The Hawks end the year at 23-15 overall and 11-7 in the SUNYAC. It is the first time in program history the team tallied three-straight 20-plus win seasons, while also tying a program record three consecutive playoff appearances.
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