READING, PA – The SUNYIT baseball team got a hit from its entire starting lineup and registered 22 hits on the day as the Wildcats trounced the Penn State Harrisburg Nittany Lions 17-4 to win the NEAC West Championship Saturday. 

The Wildcats will now take Husson University in a best-of-three series to determine the NEAC/NAC Championship* this Saturday, May 8 at Delutis Field in Rome, NY.  Game one will begin at 5:00 pm, with game two beginning shortly after the conclusion of the first contest.  Game three will be played at 11:00 am Sunday, if necessary.  Directions to the field can be found here.

The Wildcats continued their hot hitting streak during the championship contest, as they scored double-digit runs for the third straight playoff contest.  They began the onslaught with a four-run first inning and never looked back, scoring a run in the second, four runs in the third, six in the fourth and two more in the fifth en route to the lopsided victory.

Senior Chris Fratini (Syracuse, NY/Westhill), the NEAC Player of the Year, hit his second playoff homerun and sixth of the season in the win, finishing 3-for-5 with two triples, five RBI and three runs scored.  Fratini was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after finishing 8-for-14 at the plate with two homeruns, two triples, eight RBI, eight runs scored, four walks drawn and a stolen base.

Freshman Chandler Evans (New Hartford, NY/New Hartford) went 3-for-6 with four RBI, while junior Dan Orza (Pleasant Valley, NY/Arlington) finished 4-for-5 with four RBI and four runs scored. Junior Kevin Burr (Oriskany, NY/Oriskany) had three hits and scored two runs, while fellow classmate Matt Faboskay (Amsterdam, NY/Amsterdam) scored four runs and drove in one more. 

Sophomore Patrick Baker (Ronkonkoma, NY/Connetquot) pitched seven strong innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits while striking out four and walking two.  Junior Ethan Marr (Roslyn, NY/Roslyn) closed out the final two innings and had three strikeouts.

*Beginning with the 2010 season, North Atlantic Conference (NAC) members Castleton, Husson, Lyndon State, Maine-Farmington and Thomas will play in the NEAC as associate members in the East Division.  Each division will hold a championship and the two divisional champions will meet for a three-game series to determine the conference champion.  The conference winner will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship.