GAME ONE BOXSCORE             GAME TWO BOXSCORE

Behind senior Kyle Smith's (Sanborn, NY/Niagara Wheatfield) pitching gem, The College at Brockport's baseball team picked up its first conference win and the Golden Eagles earned a split of a Sunday afternoon doubleheader against New Paltz.

 

Smith pitched a complete-game, seven-hitter with a career-high 12 strikeouts as the Golden Eagles defeated New Paltz 4-1 in Game One at Brockport's Clark V. Whited Complex.

 

Smith struck out the first six batters he faced and had eight strikeouts through four innings. He didn't allow a run over the first eight innings before finally surrendering a run in the ninth. He improved his record to 4-1 with a sparkling 1.53 earned-run average (ERA).

 

New Paltz struck for two quick runs in the first inning of Game Two and led 7-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth en route to a 9-0 win in seven innings over Brockport (12-6 overall, 1-4 State University of New York Athletic Conference).

 

The Hawks (10-9, 2-3) belted a pair of home runs and took advantage of seven Brockport walks to win Game Two.

 

A four-run second inning proved to be all the run support Smith would need in the first game. Junior Corey Booth (Middletown, NY/Minisink Valley) singled to right-center field and sophomore Mike Weakley (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) followed with a single to put runners on first and second.

 

After senior Tom McCormick (Utica, NY/Utica Notre Dame) drew a one-out walk to load the bases, freshman Kyle Tracy (Plainview, NY/Bethpage) hit an RBI single up the middle that scored Booth for a 1-0 lead.

 

Senior Mike Goldstein (Slingerlands, NY/Guilderland) was hit by a pitch in the ensuing at-bat to force home Weakley for a 2-0 lead, and senior Max Keado (Troy, NY/Catholic Central) pushed the lead to 3-0 with an RBI single to right field. Sophomore Jake Coleman (Hilton, NY/Hilton) finished off the scoring, drawing a bases-loaded walk to force home Tracy for a 4-0 lead.

 

Smith made the lead stand. After allowing a single to lead off the game and another single two batters later, Smith was on cruise control against New Paltz. At one point the right-hander retired 20 straight batters until the Hawks got a single to leadoff the eighth.

 

An economical Smith mowed through the Hawks' lineup, striking out the side in the first and second innings. He needed only 90 pitches to record his third complete game in five starts, including setting New Paltz down in order in the eighth on just five pitches.

Smith's previous career-high for strikeouts was nine during a 13-6 win over Dickinson (PA) on March 13, 2010.

 

“Mostly my fastball and slider were working. I changed my arm angles a lot, so that helps, and you can't really guess what I'm going to throw,” said Smith, who has a team-high 39 strikeouts in just 35 1/3 innings.

 

“Today when I got ahead I didn't waste any pitches, I went right after them. (Catcher) Mike Goldstein called a great game and he told me to just go after hitters (ahead) 0-2 in the count. There's no reason to waste pitches. It kept my pitch count down and helped me get through the game. Getting strike one was probably the most important thing. You get the first strike, you take control of the at bat.”

 

Booth, Weakley and Tracy each had two hits in Game One for Brockport.

 

The Golden Eagles trailed 3-0 after two innings, and 7-0 after the top of the fourth in Game Two. Brockport mustered only four hits off of sophomore starter Chris Chismar. Coleman, Booth, Weakley and junior Kevin Gerken (Scottsville, NY/Wheatland-Chili) each recorded singles for the Green and Gold.

 

The Golden Eagles return to action with a 3 p.m. game at Fredonia on Tuesday and a 4 p.m. clash with Clarkson University Wednesday afternoon. Brockport returns home for a three-game set with SUNYAC rival Oswego April 9-10.