Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 New Paltz, NY – Minutes before the State University of New York at New Paltz baseball team hosted The College at Brockport Saturday at Loren Campbell Memorial Field, Hawks senior Anthony Pantano boldly predicted the very first pitch.

"He said it, and I laughed," said Hawks senior Conor Donachie of Pantano's premonition. "Then he looked me dead in the eyes and said, 'I'm getting a first pitch fast ball and I am getting a home run.' It was the coolest thing I have ever seen."

As promised, Pantano delivered with a home run off a first pitch fast ball to lead-off the top of the first inning, ultimately setting the stage in what turned into a dominating day for SUNY New Paltz (10-9 overall, 2-3 SUNYAC), which earned 11-1 and 11-2 victories, respectively, over the Golden Eagles Saturday.

"I was on the phone with my dad last night and he's like, "If you see a fast ball first pitch, let it fly," so that was the plan all morning and that is what I planned on doing. Got a pitch that I liked, so just swung," Pantano said. "Winning today, it just feels great… We all played great as a team today and winning in general just feels great."

Although the Hawks played host, The College at Brockport served as the home team batting at the bottom of each inning, as weather restrictions forced the game to Loren Campbell Memorial Field.

Pantano ignited what turned into an offensive onslaught for the Hawks, who knocked three home runs on the day, as Jake Williams and Dwayne Page also went yard.

"We didn't really think about who was pitching. We just focused on ourselves and whoever is pitching we didn't care. We could hit anybody today," said Williams, who went 5-for-9 with six RBIs and four runs in the double-header. "I think we just played loose today. We didn't put too much pressure on ourselves and we kind of just had fun, and that's when we play our best as a team."

To go along with its offense, SUNY New Paltz received some stout pitching from starters Luke Christy and Mike Delio. Christy went seven innings, gave up five hits, one earned run with three strikeouts, while Delio was nearly perfect, going six innings, while allowing just two hits and two earned runs with two strikeouts. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles had trouble producing hits, as the Hawks limited them to just 10 hits on the day with all three of their runs coming off solo shots over the fence.

"At least 90 percent of the time when they scored we scored after. We answered and that is what great teams do," said SUNY New Paltz coach Arlan Freeman. "Both first innings we ended up scoring first and that is another thing we try to do. It set the tone and then we had shut down innings. Mike did a great job and also Luke. When we did score they went out and threw strikes, challenged the hitters and kept them in swing mode. With our defense being the strong suit of our team, if they put the ball in play we're going to go catch it."

Pantano's homer at the top of the first was the lone run of the first game until the fifth inning when the Hawks broke the game open. They scored five runs with two outs, as Ryan Frost got it started with a two-out single to keep the inning alive.

Zach Warenius followed up with a hard shot to the left side for a base hit and after a walk by Chris Moran loaded the bases, Williams stepped up to hit a hard grounder up the middle to plate Warenius and Frost.

Nick DePietro kept the rally going with a single to left field, bringing Williams and Moran home to pad the Hawks' cushion, while Campbell added one more run in the inning with a fly ball to center field.

"We got back to our philosophy. We played aggressive, smart baseball. We hit the fast ball and we got clutch hitting," Freeman said. "I mean, we scored 10 runs with two outs between the two games and five in one inning. That is what great teams do. We threw the ball over the plate. We challenged their hitters and we were able to throw breaking balls and change ups in fast ball counts to keep them off balanced all day."

SUNY New Paltz added three more insurance runs in the eighth – all with two outs – and two more in the ninth to solidify the victory and its bats stayed hot for game two.

Once again, the Hawks got on the board first in the top of the second inning. After DePietro got plunked in the back with a fast ball, he stole second a batter later to get in scoring position. But as it turned out, DePietro didn't need the extra base, as Page crushed a ball well behind the left field fence for the two-run home run.

The Golden Eagles had a chance to cut into the lead in the bottom of the third, as Nik Malachowski found himself on third with one out. But Delio did a great job getting out of the jam, popping out the next batter and then ending the inning on a strikeout to keep the Hawks' 2-0 advantage.

"It's great for the starting pitcher to dictate the pace of the game," Williams said. "So when they're out there throwing strikes and we're getting in the dugout quick, we're not really standing around it helps the offense out a lot too."

SUNY New Paltz went up 5-0 after the top of the first. Williams led-off with a single toward second and was later hit in on a RBI double to left by Page. Julian Francisco plated Page in the following at-bat and Pantano capped off the surge with a two-out RBI base hit to bring Francisco home.

Following a home run by the Golden Eagles in the fourth and sixth innings, and an RBI triple by Williams in the fifth, the Hawks went into the seventh clutching a 6-2 lead and were determined to extend their lead further.

Warenius kicked off the final inning with a single down the left field line and after Moran got hit with a pitch to advance the runner, Williams came up clutch again with an RBI single through the right side, scoring pinch runner, Matt Warshaw.

DePietro then doubled to left center, scoring Williams, and Campbell followed with a sacrifice fly to left field to score DePietro. Francisco then added one more for SUNY New Paltz with an RBI ground out to plate Page and extending the score, 11-2.

"We had our backs against the wall, going 0-3 in conference. We needed to get some wins, get on the board and climb the standings a little bit. I think that is exactly what we did. I think we played great today," Williams said. "I hope we realize that just because it is a conference game doesn't mean it is different than any other game. I think we just have to play loose every time and we should be where we want to be at the end of the season."

Coming off an 0-3 SUNYAC start against Oswego State March 30-31 and totaling just 13 hits combined in the series, Freeman switched up his lineup for Saturday's double header against The College at Brockport and his team produced 25hits on the day, including three doubles and a triple to go with three home runs.

Following Williams offensively was Pantano (three hits, four RBIs, two runs, double, home run, stolen base), DePietro (three runs, four RBIs, double stolen base), Page (four runs, three RBIs, double, home run, stolen base) and Francisco, who finished 4-for-8 with two runs, two RBIs and a stolen base.

"[After the game] I told them that it is about being consistent," Freeman said. "Great teams are consistent day in and day out, whether they win, lose or tie. I think the attitude, concentration and effort was phenomenal today. We made some dynamic plays in the second game and I really liked how we came out."

SUNY New Paltz hopes it can take the series sweep Sunday, when they host the Golden Eagles for a 12 p.m. nine-inning game. Be sure to follow @nphawks on Twitter and @newpaltzhawks on Instagram and Facebook for updates, highlights, videos, photos and more.