BROCKPORT, N.Y. – The Golden Eagle baseball team split their doubleheader with New Paltz on Saturday afternoon, securing the No. 3 spot in the upcoming SUNYAC tournament. The team is set to square off against second seeded SUNY Cortland next Friday in Oswego, N.Y.
The games were also part of the "Hometown Heroes" event, with the baseball and softball teams honoring our veterans, police, firefighters, and other first responders before the first game.
Game 1: L, 4-2
After his two-run homer in yesterdays game,
Lou Miceli stayed hot early in this outing, roping an RBI single down the left field line in the bottom of the first that put Brockport out in front 1-0.
That lead would hold until the top of the fourth inning, when Savino Citriniti put the Hawks in front with a two-RBI single up the middle. Those runs would be the only two that starter
Mark Giallanzo would allow, as the Oneonta, N.Y. native went 5.1 innings allowing just five hits and two runs.
Brockport tied the game up in the bottom of the sixth, as the red hot
Joe Bender drove a single to left that allowed
Luke Gilbert to come around and score from second. They threatened for more after an
Austin Hall walk that put two men on base, but a timely strikeout ended the threat.
The eventual game-winning run for New Paltz came in the top of the seventh when the Hawks managed to scratch across a pair off of
Jason Hellwig. Brockport put two more on base in the bottom of the seventh, but the Hawks were able to work out of trouble again, taking the opening game.
Game 2: W, 9-5
With New Paltz leading 5-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Brockport put the first three hitters on, loading the bases for pinch hitter
Austin Hall. The junior came through, driving a bases clearing double deep into the right centerfield gap to put the Golden Eagles on top.
They ended up adding three more runs in the inning, beginning with
Paul Ludden who singled in Hall, and then advanced to second on a
Lou Miceli base knock. Senior
Ryan Juergens got a pinch hit opportunity next, and like Hall, also came through with a single through the right side to drive in Ludden. Kretzler had the final RBI in the inning, also singling through the right side of the infield to drive in
Colin Augustine who had ran for Miceli.
The offense came entirely in spurts in this game, as the other three Brockport runs also came in one inning.
Avery Brooks led off the bottom of the fourth with a hit-by-pitch, and was followed by Ludden who reached on a walk. After a strikeout,
Matt Van Allen cranked a 2-RBI double to left center, driving in both runners. He advanced to third during the next at-bat, and was driven home on a line drive double from Bender.
On the mound, freshman
Maddux Minton earned the first win of his career after pitching the seventh inning. He surrendered one hit, but did not allow a run and struck out a New Paltz batter.
Ben Moxley got the start in the game, going six full innings with four earned runs and four strikeouts.
Dave Sicina and
Seve Kowalski also saw work on the mound, with Kowalski dominating his inning. The senior faced the minimum three hitters in the ninth, striking out two and forcing a weak groundout to the third.
Brockport will play a single non-conference game at Medaille on Tuesday before gearing up for the SUNYAC tournament in Oswego next weekend. More information on game times for the conference tournament will be released when it becomes available.
Be sure to stay up to date on all of your Golden Eagle scores and awards by following @BportAthletics on Twitter and by liking the "Brockport Golden Eagles" Facebook page.
