ONEONTA, N.Y. - The Oneonta baseball team won its home opener 4-2 over Plymouth State on Friday afternoon. The Red Dragons move to 3-3 overall, while the Panthers fall to 0-1.
Junior Jake Quigley (Harrison, NY/Harrison) struck out one batter in the first inning to complete a 1-2-3 inning, and the Red Dragons hit first in the bottom of the frame. After the first two Red Dragons struck out, a pitch hit senior Nick Jacoby (Yorktown Heights, NY/Yorktown), and he stole second. The Plymouth State shortstop fumbled a ball from sophomore Ryan Cronin (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa), which Jacoby scored on to take a 1-0 lead.
The Panthers evened the score in the second inning. Ray Campbell hit a lead-off double down the right-field line. Dominick Wisniewski singled him home to make it 1-1. Quigley struck out the last two batters to keep the game tied.
Plymouth State added another run in the third when Brendan Flynn doubled in a run from Josh Worthington. Oneonta tied in the bottom of the third when freshman Carlos Almanzar (Brooklyn, NY/John Jay Campus) knocked a double to center field to bring Jacoby home. The Planther's second baseman misread a ball from senior Matt Sandoval (West Islip, NY/West Islip Senior), and Almanzar and senior Brendan Duffy (Southold, NY/Southold Jr./Sr.) reached home to take a 4-2 lead.
Quigley struck out batters in the fourth and fifth innings, but the Oneonta bats struggled to heat up as well.
The top of the seventh inning saw junior Lukas Jachens (Cornwall, NY/Cornwall Central) come in to relieve Quigley. Jackens struck out three batters in the top of the eighth. Plymouth State had one more chance in the ninth with Flynn leading off with a single to center field. Campbell grounded into a double play to sophomore Joseph Monserrat (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central), Cronin, and freshman Alex Halwick (Selkirk, NY/Ravena Coeymans Selkirk). A final groundout to Monserrat ended the game.
Jacoby finished the day with one hit and two runs. Almanzar added one hit, one run, and one RBI.
Flynn batted 2-for-4 with one RBI. Wisniewski added a hit and an RBI.
Quigley (2-0) pitched 6.0 innings with six hits, two runs, and a career-high six strikeouts. Jachens picks up his first-career save, going 3.0 innings with one hit, no runs, and four strikeouts.
Brady Harvie (0-1) pitched 4.0 innings with four hits, four runs, and four strikeouts.
Oneonta hosts Plymouth State in a doubleheader on Saturday, March 7, at 11 a.m.
