SUNY Oneonta Baseball splits in their conference opener against Brockport at Houghton College's baseball complex on Monday (3/27). The Red Dragons offense over powered the Golden Eagles in game one, scoring 11 runs off of 18 hits. The second game was decided in extra innings as the Red Dragons fell 5-3.
 
Game one was an offensive showing for the Red Dragons as five batters had multiple hits.  Oneonta scored early and often putting up two runs in the first inning and another three in the second inning. With a 5-0 lead the Red Dragons were tested when the Brockport bats came alive in the 3^rd and 4^th inning to bring the score 5-4. Oneonta had an answer with a four run rally in the bottom of the 4^th inning, capped by an RBI single by freshman James Ceparano (Melville/Half Hollow Hills East) to score senior Sage Cheren (Bronx/Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy).
 
Junior Thomas Bond (Somers/North Salem) earned his third win of the season to improve to 3-1 on the season. Junior James McCarty (Stony Brook/Chaminade) pitched three innings in relief, and only allowed one run off of two hits.
 
Junior Dalton Beatty (Atwater/Atwater) led the team in hits by going 4-5 with three runs batted in. Senior Sean Mullins (Vestal/Vestal) was 3-3 with a walk, two runs scored and two runs batted in.
 
In game two the Red Dragons sophomore Takoda Sitar (Somers/Somers) got his second start of the season. He went six innings while only allowing two earned off of six hits.
 
Brockport went out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning, scoring the two runs off of three hits and an error.
 
Oneonta chipped away at the lead in the bottom half of the inning. Sophomore Mickey Mullins (Vestal/Vestal) hit a one out single to center field. The next batter S. Mullins singled to right field on a hit and run, allowing M. Mullins to go first to third. On the next pitch, S. Mullins stole second base. Freshman Vincent Prisco (Northport/Saint Dominic) hit a sacrifice fly ball to left field to score M. Mullins to cut the lead in half (2-1).
 
The Red Dragons tied up the game in the bottom of the 4^th inning when Ceparano hit an RBI double down the right field line to score Cheren.
 
With the Red Dragons trailing by a run in 6^th inning freshman Brandon LaVenture (Schenectady/Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons) hit his first home run of his college career to knot the game 3-3. 
 
In extra innings the Golden Eagles tacked on two runs to go ahead 5-3, and relief pitcher Nick Jerolimov, who came in the middle of the 6^th inning, pitched 3.1 innings in relief only allowing one hit. He improved to 3-0 on the season with the 5-3 victory.
 
The Red Dragons are now 8-4 and 1-1 in the SUNYAC. They are scheduled to play against Ithaca on Wednesday (3/28) at Ithaca.