COBLESKILL, N.Y. - The SUNY Poly Baseball team fell to Cobleskill two games to none in the 2021 North Atlantic Conference Divisional Championship Series on Saturday, ending the Wildcats 2021 season. SUNY Poly lost both of Saturday's games by one run. The first game was 6-5 and the second was 8-7. The Wildcats end their season with an 8-7 conference record and a 9-12 overall record. 

GAME ONE: 

The Wildcats fell behind early in game one when a pair of errors allowed two runs to score for Cobleskill in the second inning. In the top of the third, a Wildcat first and third opportunity played out to allow Kyle Liddy to score when Alexander Bonacci stole second base, bringing the Wildcats within one run. In the bottom of the third the Tiger's bats drove in three runs on three RBI singles to give Cobleskill a 5-1 lead. The Wildcats would claw their way back into the game with a run in the fourth and three in the sixth to tie the game at five. Brad Dietz drove in two of those four Wildcat runs on a pair of singles. Cobleskill would regain the lead, and ultimately win the game on a Jason Maxwell RBI single in the seventh that drove in Stephen Tejada. The final score of game one was 6-5. 

GAME NOTES:

• Cobleskill's Jarrod Williams threw a complete game. He allowed two earned runs, 11 hits, and struck out four. 

• Kevin Flynn game the Wildcats seven strong innings. He allowed nine hits and struck out eight batters. 

• Stephen Tejada, River Sisson and Christopher Kordziel each had two hits for Cobleskill. Kordziel had two RBIs. 

• Bradley Dietz went 2-5 in the game with a team-high two RBIs. 

• Jake Montrose went 2-4 with a pair of singles. 

• Chris Ling had an RBI on a sacrifice fly. He went 1-4. 

• James Lynch threw one inning in relief for SUNY Poly. He allowed no hits and struck out a batter. 

GAME TWO: 

Cobleskill got out to another fast start in game two. The Tigers scored three runs thanks to an error and an RBI double by Jayson Maxwell. All three runs were unearned. In the bottom half of the first, Jake Montrose drove in a pair of runs on a two-RBI single driving in Bradley Dietz and Kyle Liddy. Cobleskill added three more runs in the fourth and a run in the fifth, putting SUNY Poly on the ropes in the elimination game. SUNY Poly had one more big punch left in the tank. The Wildcats scored five runs in the fifth inning to bring the game within one run yet again. The Wildcats could have potentially had more if not for a seldomly seen call, which may have cost the Wildcats the tying and go-ahead runs in the inning. 

With runners on first and second and nobody out, what looked to be an easy double steal with a throwing error turned into a rarely seen delayed umpire's interference call. The play as it happened would have plated the seventh run and put the tying run on third with no one out. The play was negated by contact between the catcher's hand and the umpire's mask on the throw down to third. Both runners were forced to return to their originally occupied base, changing the outcome of the inning. It should be noted that the umpires got the call right in the end as the interference did occur however, the do-over for Cobleskill allowed them to get out of the inning with their lead intact. 

Ci'an Kenny and Cobleskills Connor Maxwell had outstanding relief appearances for their respective teams, combining to shut the game down for their squads. Neither team scored in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings. The final score in the decisive game was 8-7 sending Cobleskill to the NAC Championship Series at Husson University next weekend. 

GAME NOTES: 

• Kyle Liddy had a big game for the Wildcats. He went 3-5 with a run scored. 

• Jake Montrose finished his season with a 2-5 performance with two RBIs. 

• Paul Barber also went 2-5 with a double and an RBI.

• Michael Cough went 2-3 with a run scored. 

• Zach Hyland went 2-4 with a walk. 

• Ci'an Kenny went four innings for the Wildcats in relief. He allowed just one hit. 

• Devin Lewis got the win on the mound for Cobleskill. He went six innings and struck out four. 

• Nick Thomas went 3-4 for Cobleskill with a double, a triple, and a pair of RBIs. 

• Jayson Maxwell went 2-4 with a double and two RBIs. 

• Christopher Kordziel had a pair of hits in four at-bats. He also drove in a run. 

After the series, the NAC named Jake Montrose and Kyle Liddy to the 2021 NAC Baseball All-Tournament Team. Montrose went 4-9 in the series with a pair of RBIs. Liddy also went 4-9 in the series and scored twice. The rest of the members of the All-Tournament Team will be announced after the NAC Championship Series.  

The loss concludes the Wildcat's season. The Fighting Tigers advance as NAC West Division Champions to take on NAC East Division Champion Husson University for a bid to the NCAA DIII Championship Tournament. 

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SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) is New York's globally recognized, high-tech educational ecosystem, formed from the merger of the SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering and SUNY Institute of Technology. SUNY Poly offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the emerging disciplines of nanoscience and nanoengineering, as well as cutting-edge nanobioscience and nanoeconomics programs at its Albany location and undergraduate and graduate degrees in technology, including engineering, cybersecurity, computer science, and the engineering technologies; professional studies, including business, communication, and nursing; and arts and sciences, including natural sciences, mathematics, humanities, and social sciences at its Utica/Rome location. Thriving athletic, recreational, and cultural programs, events, and activities complement the campus experience. As the world's most advanced, university-driven research enterprise, SUNY Poly boasts billions of dollars in high-tech investments and over 300 corporate partners since its inception. For information visit www.sunypoly.edu.