Baseball | 3/22/2018 3:06:00 PM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Winter Haven, Fla.: The SUNY Cobleskill men's baseball team suffered a pair of tough losses at the 2018 RussMatt Central Florida Baseball Invitational at the Chain of Lakes Park Stadium. The Fighting Tigers lost to Clackson University by a 9-7 margin in the day's opener then dropped an 11-9 decision to SUNY Farmingdale in 10 innings. With the losses the Fighting Tigers fall to 0-6 overall on the year.
 
Against Clackson in the opening game the Fighting Tigers trailed by six runs entering the fourth inning before making a spirited comeback effort eventually tying the contest at 7-7 when junior catcher Daren Palmer, West Haverstraw, N.Y., Jefferson Community College, doubled home the tying run with his second double of the day.
 
However Clackson rallied in the eighth with a pair of runs to put the contest out of reach.
 
In the second game the Fighting Tigers and Rams engaged in a rollercoaster contest which featured three ties and four lead changes as both teams posted comebacks after falling behind.
 
The Fighting Tigers trailed early in the contest as five errors led to six unearned runs and hurt an otherwise strong pitching effort from freshman Ryan O'Keefe, Albany, N.Y., Albany High School, who allowed nine runs, only three of which were earned, while striking out four in six and a third inning of work.
 
Cobleskill came back to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth inning when freshman catcher Corey Tingo, Selden, N.Y., Newfield High School, doubled advanced to third on a ground out and scored on a sacrifice fly by freshman right fielder Zyere Molinaro, Summit, N.Y., Cobleskill-Richmondville High School, with one out.
 
In the 10^th inning the Rams tallied twice to take the lead from which the Fighting Tigers could not overcome.
 
The Orange & Black will close out the Invitational when the face St. Olaf for a pair of games on Friday beginning at 9:00 a.m.