AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The SUNY Poly Baseball team earned their first win of the 2023 season on Monday in the first game of a doubleheader against the UMaine-Farmington Beavers. The Wildcats split the two games with the Beavers winning the first 10-5 and losing the second 15-4. The Wildcats are now 1-5 this season.

GAME 1:

SUNY Poly – 10

Me.-Farmington – 5

WP: Jack Montanye (1-1)

LP: Jameson Bloch (0-1)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

SUNY Poly started off strong, scoring two runs in the first inning on a two-RBI single by Paul Barber. Farmington responded with one run in the bottom of the first when Nick Coombs scored during a double play.

The SUNY Poly offense hit its stride in the middle innings. They scored two in the third, one in the fourth, and two in the fifth to take an 8-1 lead. DJ Vento drove in both runs in the third on a two-RBI single. Alexander Bonnacci had a sacrifice fly in the fourth. The three runs in the fifth were scored on an error, a sacrifice fly by Chris Martin, and a balk.

Me.-Farmington managed to put up a fight in the fifth inning by scoring four runs, but it wasn't enough to catch up to SUNY Poly's lead.

The Wildcats added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the sixth when Ryan Pelton hit his first collegiate homerun. It was a deep two-run HR to left field that drove in Bonacci to give the Wildcats a 10-4 lead.

Jack Montanye earned his first win of the year on the mound. He went 4.1 innings and struck out five batters while allowing just five hits. Salvatore closed out the game, throwing 2.2 innings in relief. He struck out two and allowed no hits.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Ryan Pelton hit his first career home run and had two RBIs.
• Ethan Merone went 3-4 with a double and scored two runs. He currently leads the Wildcats with a .471 batting average and a .647 slugging percentage.
• Don Vento had a pair of hits and two RBIs. One of his hits was a double.
• Christopher Martin had a hit and an RBI on a sacrifice fly.
• James Lynch stole a base and scored a run.
• Sam Parsell had a hit and an RBI, including a sacrifice fly for Farmington.
• Farmington's Jacob Kateley had a hit and an RBI.
• Sam Peterson had a sacrifice fly RBI for the Beavers.
• Nate Coombs had a hit and scored twice for Farmington.

GAME 2:

Me.-Farmington – 15

SUNY Poly – 4

WP: Michael Johnson (0-1)

LP: Ky Morris (1-0)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Beavers got on the scoreboard first, putting up two runs in the second inning. SUNY Poly answered back with two runs of their own in the bottom of the second to tie the game. The Wildcats scored on a successful first and third steal play and an RBI single by Chris Martin.

Me.-Farmington put up seven runs in the fifth and six runs in the sixth to blow the game open.

The Wildcats would score twice in the sixth, once on a Zackary Morrison double and once on a Chris Martin RBI single, but that would be the end of the scoring for the Wildcats.

Ky Morris (1-0) earned the win for Me.-Farmington, pitching four innings, allowing two runs on three hits with two strikeouts. Ryan Secor started for SUNY Poly but was only able to go three innings, giving up two runs on one hit with one strikeout.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Christopher Martin went 2-3 for the Wildcats with a double and a pair of RBIs.
• Poly's Zackary Morrison had an RBI double in his only at-bat.
• Paul Barber went 1-2 with a double and scored a run for SUNY Poly.
• Will Cauchon had a big day for Farmington. He went 3-3 with two RBIs and a double.
• Cal Tibbitts went 3-3 with a pair of RBIs and a double for the Beavers.
• Farmington's Nate Coombs had a game-high three RBIs, went 2-5, and hit a triple.
• Danny Terhune drove in a pair of runs for Farmington on two hits. He also had a stolen base.

UP NEXT:

The Wildcats will wrap up the first half of their Florida trip on Tuesday with a nine-inning game against Emerson. The game is scheduled for a 3:30 PM first pitch at Chain O' Lakes Park Field #1 in Winterhaven, Florida. The game was originally scheduled to start at 2:30 but it was pushed back an hour by the tournament staff.

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SUNY Poly is New York's globally recognized, high-tech educational ecosystem. SUNY Poly offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the emerging disciplines of nanoscience and nanoengineering, as well as cutting-edge nanobioscience programs at its Albany campus, 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, game design, mathematics, humanities, and social sciences at its Utica campus; 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 hundreds of corporate partners since its inception. For information visit www.sunypoly.edu.