Bangor, Maine: The SUNY Cobleskill baseball team used strong pitching, timely hitting and aggressive base running to defeat the host Eagles of Husson University by a 7-2 margin to advance to the championship game of the 2023 North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Championship Tournament on Monday afternoon in a game played at Husson's Dr. John W. Winkin Sports Complex's Harold Alfond Diamond. With the win the Fighting Tigers set a new program record for most wins in a single season improving to 22-13 overall on the year while the Eagles fall to 21-17 overall on the year.
The Eagles scored a pair of unearned runs in the first inning to take a 2-0 lead which they held until the bottom of the sixth inning when the Fighting Tigers scored three runs when sophomore centerfielder
Zach Ducorsky, Oceanside, N.Y., Oceanside High School, singled taking second base on an error and scored on a single by junior shortstop
David Flora, Windsor, N.Y., Windsor High School/Herkimer Community College. Flora then stole second followed by a walk to sophomore catcher
Logan Hutter, Smithtown, N.Y. The pair then advanced on a wild pitch and subsequently scored on a single to left field by sophomore designated hitter
Dylan Pohl, East Meadow, N.Y., East Meadow High School to give them a 3-2 advantage.
The Fighting Tigers then tacked on a run in the seventh when Ducorsky singled and went to third on a two-out single by junior left fielder
Matthew Snyder, Latham, N.Y., Shaker High School. Cobleskill then pulled a walk-off play with Snyder intentionally getting caught in a rundown allowing Ducorsky to steal home and make it 4-2.
The Orange & Black then sealed the win with a three-run eighth inning highlighted by run scoring squeeze bunts by
Dylan Pohl and junior first baseman
Chris Champlin, Jefferson, N.Y., South Kortright High School, and a solo two-out home run by first-year right fielder
Logan Firment, Andes, N.Y., Smithtown West High School, to make it 7-2.
After giving up the unearned runs in the first inning, senior right hander
Wyatt Palmer, Camden, N.Y., Camden High School/Cayuga Community College, dominated the Eagle offense over the next eight innings to improve to 4-2 overall on the year by striking out four and walking only one.
At the plate, the quartet of
Zack Ducorsky who was 3-for-4 with a stolen base and a pair of runs scored,
Dylan Pohl who was 1-for-4 with three RBI,
David Flora who went 2-of-3 with two stolen bases, two runs scored and an RBI and
Logan Firment who was 2-for-4 with the home run led the way to the win.
Cobleskill will next be in action on Tuesday May 9 when they meet the winner of today's Husson University/Thomas College game to determine the 2023 NAC Championship and who will receive the league's automatic bid to the 2023 NCAA Division III Championship Tournament at Husson University's Alfond Diamond. Under the tournament's double elimination format the first game will begin 12:00 p.m. and if a second game is needed it will begin at approximately 30 minutes upon completion of the first game.
