The baseball team has won its last three games, including a doubleheader sweep versus Mount Saint Mary College and a road win against SUNY Purchase.
For the matinee leg of the games against Mount Saint Mary at Dutchess Stadium on Monday, March 6, the Hawks enjoyed an 11-4 victory while exploding for 13 hits.
After finding themselves down 3-0 after three frames, first-year outfielder Savino Citriniti evened the game up for New Paltz with a bases-clearing double to right field.
Citriniti would finish the game going 3-for-5 while driving in four runs as well as crossing the plate twice.
Mount Saint Mary momentarily regained the lead in the bottom half of the fourth, but New Paltz answered back with eight unanswered runs the following three innings to seal the win.
Third-year pitcher Brian LoRusso earned the win for New Paltz after tossing 3.2 innings in relief of second-year starter Justin Stybel, who surrendered four runs on six hits.
LoRusso says that strong pitching and defense are going to be key to the team’s success this season.
“We have really put extra emphasis on focusing on every pitch we throw,” LoRusso said. “We live by the motto ‘Be an assassin on the mound,’ which basically means executing the task you are faced with one pitch at a time.”
Hawks head coach Arlan Freeman admires how the team was able to fight back from being down twice and come away with the victory.
“Putting up that eight spot was huge,” Freeman said. “We stole some bags, Savino had that big rip and we were able to pick Stybel up when he was down. True character is how you bounce back from being faced with adversity.”
In the evening match, New Paltz came away with a 2-1 victory after third-year pitcher Conor Donachie turned in six innings, yielded zero earned runs and just four hits and registered his second victory of his 2017 campaign.
Mount Saint Mary got on the scoreboard first off an unearned run, but New Paltz countered in the second to tie the game after third-year outfielder Brian Brenton reached base on an error that allowed third-year catcher Dwayne Page to score.
The Hawks scratched out another run in the fourth as the Knights conceded a run for two outs. This would be the difference maker as the Hawks wouldn’t relinquish their lead the rest of the game.
Third-year pitcher Ryan Votypka sealed the deal for New Paltz, recording his first save of the season after relieving Donachie in the seventh.
New Paltz managed just two hits in their second game, but were able to defeat Mount Saint Mary on the strength of mitigating the other team’s offensive threats by turning crucial double plays.
“Donachie started slow but was able to finish off strong,” Freeman said. “As a coach, one of my mantras is ‘bend not break’ which Conor exemplifies, then Votypka came in to close the game and pitched awesome.”
Finally, the Hawks beat Purchase College in Westchester by a score of 7-5 on Wednesday, March 8.
First-year pitcher John LoCurto started the game for the Hawks and tossed 3.2 innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on three hits while punching out seven.
Third-year pitcher Jeff Sarra and first-year pitcher Anthony Amoroso bridged the gap out of the ‘pen for Ryan Votypka, who shut the door for the Hawks, pitching the last 1.2 innings, striking out three and allowing zero runs.
Second-year first baseman Justin Ganca led the charge offensively with three runs batted in, while third-year second baseman Anthony Pantano racked up two hits.
In order to see success this weekend and to increase their winning streak, Freeman expects the team to come on top against Stevens Institute of Technology, where he was on the coaching staff the last four seasons.
“I think we are a better team than Stevens but we need to execute,” Freeman said. “When we click on all cylinders we are a force to be reckoned with.
The team will now travel to Hoboken, New Jersey to take on the aforementioned Stevens on Saturday, March 11 at 1 p.m. and Dean College in Annandale-on-Hudson on Sunday, March 12 at 12 p.m.