MARCY, N.Y. - The SUNY Poly baseball team completed their series win in comeback fashion on Monday with an exciting pair of wins over SUNY Canton to win the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) series 3-2. With their backs against the wall, down two games to one, the offense came to play in the final two games of the series. The Wildcats won 10-8 to tie the series in game one. They then went on to win 8-7 in walk-off fashion in game two. Ryan Starr was the hero in game two, hitting a walk-off two-RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs. SUNY Poly is now 3-7 in conference play with five NAC games remaining against Cazenovia. 

GAME 1: 

SUNY Canton - 8

SUNY Poly - 10

The Wildcats had a great game offensively, scoring in all but one inning of the game. Carter Romansky took the mound for the Wildcats in the fourth game of the series and threw a solid six innings, allowed five runs, and struck out six batters to earn his second win of the season. The Wildcats hit three home runs in the game; two off the bat of Jake Montrose, and one hit by Josh Komacek. 

After trailing 2-1 after the first inning, Romansky tossed an empty frame in the top of the seventh and the Wildcats scored three in the bottom half to take a 4-1 lead. The cat's first run of the inning was a solo bomb by Jake Montrose that cleared the centerfield wall to tie up the game. A sacrifice by Don Vento gave Poly the lead and an Alexander Bonacci RBI single scored Chris Ling to give the Wildcats a two-run lead. 

SUNY Canton would tie the game up in the top of the third on an RBI double by Don Louis Rodriguez and an RBI single by Frank Nieto.

Romansky settled in nicely in the middle innings, working scoreless frames in the fourth and fifth to allow the Wildcats to score another six runs to build their lead to 10-4. The middle innings saw another solo home run by Jake Montrose, a solo home run by Josh Komacek, an RBI fielders choice by Alexander Bonacci, a Bradley Dietz RBI single, and a Ryan Starr RBI single. 

Ethan Walker came into the game in the seventh to shut the door, and despite allowing a pair of runs, got the job done to finish out the win. 

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES: 

• Jake Montrose hit his second and third home runs of the season in the game. Both were solo shots. He went 2-4 with a pair of RBI and two runs scored.

• Alexander Bonacci had a team-high three RBI for the Wildcats. He went 1-3 with a sacrifice fly and a stolen base. 

• Don Vento went 2-2 with a pair of RBI, a walk, and a stolen base.

• Paul Barber went 2-4 with a pair of runs scored.

• Frank Nieto had three RBI for SUNY Canton. He went 2-4 with a triple. 

• Don Louis Rodriguez had a pair of hits in three at-bats including a double. He drove in one runner and drew a walk for the Kangaroos

• Canton's Noah Reyes went 2-5 with a run scored. 

GAME 2: 

SUNY Canton - 7

SUNY Poly - 8 

The final game of the series with SUNY Canton was the most exciting game of the season for the Wildcats. After a hard-fought six and a half innings, the series came down to the final half-inning of play. Trailing by two runs entering the inning, the Wildcats needed some clutch hitting to get the job done. They got just that! 

Paul Barber got the party started for the Wildcats with a one-out double to right-center field. A Chis Ling single into right field scored Barber to put the Wildcats within one. Zach Morrison was the next man up and he lined a ball into left for a single. With runners on first and second, James Lynch laid down an absolute beauty of a bunt up the first base line that ended up being a single after a bang-bang play at the bag. A fielder's choice groundball to third base would give SUNY Canton a much needed second out, but that would be the last out that Canton would get. 

CLUTCH MOMENT: 

With two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning, senior centerfielder Ryan Starr stepped into the batter's box looking to give the Wildcats a much-needed series win. After taking a first-pitch strike on the inner part of the plate, Starr got a pitch that he could handle and he did not miss it. Starr lined a base hit into left field to score the tying run, Zack Morrison, from third, and the winning run, James Lynch, from second. 

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES: 

• Ryan Starr had his first career walk-off hit for the Wildcats. He went 1-4 with a game-high three RBI, a run scored, and a walk.

• Christopher Ling had himself a great game. The sophomore went 3-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. 

• Zackary Morrison went 2-2 with a double, an RBI, and two runs scored in the game. 

• James Lynch went 2-4 with an RBI and a run scored. 

• Connor Marcello earned the win on the mound for the Wildcats. He allowed one run and struck out three batters in three innings of work. It was his first career win. 

• Bradley Dietz had himself a two hit game with an RBI. 

• Paul Barber had two hits in the game. He went 2-4 with a double and a run scored. 

• Don Vento went 0-4, but managed to get on base enough to steal three bases and score two runs out of the leadoff spot. 

• Nick Shoemaker went 2-2 for SUNY Canton. He also had a pair of walks and scored once in the game. 

• Jackson Troiano threw a great game for the Roos. He went six strong allowed three earned runs and struck out seven. 

• Salvatore Mecca was the starter for the Wildcats. He threw four innings, allowed five earned, and struck out four. 

UP NEXT: 

The Wildcats will take on Utica University in a non-conference game on Wednesday, April 20th. The game is scheduled for a 4:00 PM start. 

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