by Steven Pinckney

The long time home for Hawks baseball field Loren Campbell Memorial will be getting some plastic surgery this off-season that will drastically improve the playing surface. The field will be completely re-surfaced and leveled, correcting a long time flaw in the field. The work to the field is being done by Maggio Construction and is expected to be completed by 2012′s home opener in March. Among the many improvments will be a new surface for both the infield and outfield, new bullpens, fencing and a new warning track that will surround the field. New sod is expected to be laid out as early as mid September. The improvements will give baseball a beatiful new home to play its games that will be an asset for the entire New Paltz Community. The Hawks are set to play their first game on the new field on March 30, 2012 when they host Brockport State.

On Saturday, September 25th, the Hawks traveled to Vassar College for their annual fall doubleheader. The Hawks pitching staff carried the team by only allowing 2 earned runs in 18 innings of play. Freshman lefthander, Mike Pastorino led the staff by throwing 2 perfect innings and striking out four of the six guys he faced. Junior transfer, Jake Cameron led the offense with two hits, including a 400 foot bomb to left center. Freshman catcher Dave Lostaglio also had 2 hits. Catch the Hawks in action one more time this fall when they square off against the alumni on Saturday, October 16th.

After a successful season in 2010, the New Paltz Hawks baseball team has made even more strides in the off-season to become a powerhouse in the SUNYAC. With an army of new players, this years squad looks better than any team in the past. 16 new players have been recruited to the program. Among the newcomers are:

Doug Marshall: Freshman (Mepham High School) – 1st Baseman who led Nassau County in home runs his junior year. During his senior year, Marshall went all-league

Kenny Gentile: Freshman (Lindenhurst High School) – Middle Infielder who led League 1 in batting average his junior year of high school while hitting .475. He was a two-time all league selection and was a part of the 2010 State Champion Lindenhurst Bulldogs.

Christopher Pyz: Freshman (Kings Park High School) – Led Kings Park High School to a Suffolk County Championship in 2010. Because of his efforts on the mound, Chris was named the Suffolk Play-off MVP.

Jimmy Briggs: Freshman (Lindenhurst High School) – Outfielder who was a 2 time All-State selection and a 2 time All-Long Island selection during his 4 years on varsity. In 2009, Briggs won the Silver Slugger award for Suffolk County, hitting 13 home runs. In 2010 he won the Yastrzemski Award which is given to Long Island’s Best player after he batted .552 during his senior year.

James Mckenna: Freshman (Connetquot High School) – Pitcher who was a 2 time all-league selection out of powerhouse program Connetquot.

Dave Lostaglio: Freshman (Marlboro High School) – Catcher who was a 1st team All-State selection and was named the Player of the Year for his league. He was also team captain his senior year.

John Schmidt: Junior (Transfer from Division 1 Fairleigh-Dickinson University/East Islip High School) – John was a All-League selection his senior year playing for one of the best programs on Long Island, The East Islip Redman.

Chris Connolly: Red-shirt Freshman (Transfer from Division 1 College of St. Peters/Saugerties High School) – Chris was a 1st-team MHAL and Daily Freeman selection. He also won a gold medal at the Empire Games in 2009.

Sean Wachtel: Freshman (Saugerties High School) – Outfielder who was a 3 time All-County selection during his 4 year stint on varsity. He started all 4 years and he was team captain his final 2 years.

Jake Cameron: Junior (Transfer from Virgina Wesleyan/South Side High school) – In high school, Jake was named the best offensive player in Nassau County, County MVP, and won the sportsmanship award. He also won the Barash award and was an All-Long Island Selection.

Raymond Courtney: Junior (Transfer from Divison 1 Farleigh-Dickinson University/Bronx High School of Science) – Ray was a 4 year starter for his high school. He won the National Championship with the Bayside Yankees his junior year of High School.

Dylan Babcock: Freshman (Cornwall High School) – Dylan was a 4 year starter for Cornwall High School and won multiple county championships.

William Ruggiero: Junior (Transfer from Stonehill College/St. Anthony’s High School) – Billy was a two-time varsity starter playing for the Friars. He won the John Newman award in 2007 during his freshman year.

Jordan Epstein: Sophmore (Transfer from C.W. Post/Paul Schreiber High School) – Jordan was named All-Conference his junior year and also was named an alternate for the Empire State Games. He also won All-county his senior year.

Matt Prescia: Sophmore (Transfer from Mt. St. Mary’s College/Connetquot High School) – Matt won All-league his senior year and was a starter for the powerhouse Connetquot T-birds.

Pat Herrington: Junior (Transfer from Schenectady Community College/Mohonasen High School) – Pat is a utility player who hit .373 his first 2 years at community college.

Mike Pastorino: Freshman (John Jay High School) – Mike won the Player of the Year award for the Mid-Hudson Athletic Conference his junior year of high school. In his senior year, he went undefeated in 7 starts and was the ace of his staff.

The new players are supported by a solid core of returning players who won 18 games in 2010. Tom Pinnola was voted the SUNYAC Rookie of the year and short stop Paul Merola was a 1st team All SUNYAC selection. Starting pitcher Chris Chismar had a stellar freshmen campaign finishing the season ranked 3rd in the nation for strikeouts per 9 innings. His season was highlighted by a record breaking 20 strikeout complete game performance against Oswego state.

The Hawks will open the 2011 season in Maryland against the nationally ranked Salisbury Seagulls. That will be followed by a 10 game stint in Vero Beach, Florida before returning north to start conference play. GO HAWKS!!!!

New Paltz Baseball current and alumni players Sep 26th

Thanks to all New Paltz baseball alumni, friends, and family for all of your support in making this year’s alumni game a great success!

After finishing last season 12 -24, the SUNY New Paltz baseball team is looking forward to getting started this fall. The Hawks enter the fall returning most of its roster from last year to which the coaching staff has added nine new players. As a coaching staff, we are excited to get started. There will be competition this fall, and we believe we are building the depth required to be successful in the SUNYAC. We have two special dates this fall where you can get the chance to preview the 2010 team. The first is Saturday, September 19, 2009 at 10:00 AM when Vassar visits Loren Campbell Field for their annual fall scrimmage.
The second date is Saturday, September 26, 2009 for the annual Alumni Game. This is a very special day for our program as we welcome back our former players. We are fortunate to have a strong group of alumni who make a special effort to attend this game, and last year was nothing short of fantastic as we fielded TWO alumni teams. We look forward to seeing you on campus again this year. The day will start with an alumni home run derby contest beginning at 10 AM. At 1:00 PM, the alumni will have the opportunity to test their skills against the 2010 Hawks. This is a great day where the Hawks of yester-year have the opportunity to meet, and support, the Hawks of today. So bring the family, play some baseball, and enjoy a cookout at the field. We look forward to seeing you on September 26th.

Saturday, March 14th the SUNY New Paltz baseball team will open its 2009 season in Phoenix, Arizona squaring of against Division II St. Cloud in a Non-Conference doubleheader.  Ten games will follow over the course of a a 9 day strecth playing various Colleges from around the nation including a set of twin ball against National ranked Eastern Connecticut on March 21st. 

Live stats for the game scan be found here: http://www.teamline.cc/teampage?teamcode=7600

Daily updates can be found here: http://athletics.newpaltz.edu/baseball/

Thanks to our alumni, friends and family for all of your continued support as we look forward to a great season!

Go Hawks!!!

Former New Paltz Hawk Ace Zach Potter has signed a deal with the Namur Angels in the Belgium Professional deal for the summer of 2009.

The Hawks hurler was selected first team All  SUNYAC  twice in his two year tenure at New Paltz. Potter also garnished 2 All Region honors while shattering numerous school records. The Pine Plains native had an impressive 2.37 ERA his senior year while going 7-1 and striking  out a whopping 87 batters in only 66 innings.  Batters hit just .203 against him as he compiled a record 7 complete games in 2008.

Opening day for the 2009 Belgium League season will be on Saturday, April 18.

A link to the full press anouncement from Belgium can be found here:

http://baseballdeworld.com/2009/01/18/belgium-baseball-news-namur-angels-add-two-american-players-for-2009-season/

Here you can find weekly updates about the New Paltz baseball team including pictures, video and more.