Cobleskill, N.Y. The SUNY Cobleskill baseball team opened defensive of their North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Western Division Championship in impressive fashion on Friday afternoon by downing the visiting Wildcats of the SUNY Polytechnic Institute by a 5-2 tally at Fighting Tiger Park. With the win the Fighting Tigers improve to 6-10 overall including a 1-0 record in NAC play while the Wildcats now 7-12 overall with a 1-1 mark in league action.

Leading 2-0 in the bottom of the seven the Fighting Tiger struck for a pair of runs as senior third baseman Frank Leger, Bronx, N.Y., All Hallows High School, who had led the inning off with a double, scored on a perfect squeeze bunt by junior shortstop David Flora, Windsor, N.Y., Windsor High School, Herkimer Community College, then added the second run when senior pinch runner Anthony Vicinanzo, Amsterdam, N.Y., Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons, scored from second on a wind aided two out  infield single by sophomore catcher Logan Hutter, Smithtown, N.Y., Smithtown West High School, to make it 4-0,

After the Wildcats scored a pair of earned runs in the top of the eighth inning to cut the lead to 4-2, Cobleskill first-year right fielder Logan Firment, Andes, N.Y., South Kortright High School, launched a prodigious home run against the wind to left-center field to close out the scoring and give the home team the 5-2 victory.

Senior right hander Wyatt Palmer, Camden, N.Y., Camden High School/Cayuga Community College, the 2022 NAC Pitcher-of-the-Year, stymied Wildcat hitters throughout the afternoon going the full nine innings allowing only two unearned runs on eight hits striking out two and walking no one to record the complete game win.

At the plate the Fighting Tigers were led by Frank Leger who went 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and an RBI and by David Flora who was 2-for-4 with an RBI and Logan Hutter who was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Junior left fielder Matthew Snyder, Latham, N.Y., Shaker High School, was also a contributor for the home team going 1-for-4 with an RBI.

The Fighting Tigers and Wildcats will close out the series with a doubleheader on Saturday at Fighting Tiger Field with first pitch scheduled for 12:00 p.m.