Canton, NY – Derek Maldonado and Frank Nieto combined for five hits and drove in four runs but a late rally from the SUNY Canton baseball team came up just short in a 6-5 NAC loss to SUNY Poly on Saturday.

THE BASICS

• Result: SUNY Poly 6, SUNY Canton 5 (7 INN)
• Location: Canton High School Field - Canton, NY
• Records: SUNY Poly (12-13, 3-3 NAC) | SUNY Canton (1-23, 0-6 NAC)

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• SUNY Poly jumped out to an early lead with four runs, two of which were unearned, in the first inning. The Wildcats tacked on another unearned run in the second inning to lead 5-0 after two.
• The visitors extended their lead to 6-0 walking in a run in the fourth.
• The Roos got on the board in the sixth when Maldonado singled home Nieto and Nick Shoemaker.
• Trailing by four in their final at-bats the Roos rallied. Danny Santana hit a one out solo shot to left field to get things started. After a John LaPorte single up the middle Nieto followed with a two-run blast to center field to get the Roos within one. With two down Edilberto Rosado was hit by a pitch to put the tying run on first. Maldonado placed a base hit to right field as Rosado moved 90 feet away from tying the game before the rally came up just short with a foul out.

 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Maldonado went 3-for-4 with two RBI, while Nieto was 2-for-3 with two runs, a home run and two RBI. LaPorte also had a multi-hit outing while Santana had the other hit, a pinch-hit dinger.
• Ethan Merone and Daniel Flaherty had two hits each for Poly with Merone and Ryan Pelton driving in two runs each.
• Aaron Kifer picked up the win on the mound for the Wildcats tossing a complete game giving up four earned runs with seven strike outs.
• Keegan Franklin took the loss throwing 1.2 innings giving up three earned runs with two strike outs and two walks. Maxwell Rose was strong in relief giving up one unearned run with five strike outs and three walks in 5.1 innings.

Game 2 on Saturday was called due to weather and field conditions. According to NAC and NCAA policy since the teams didn't agree to a halted game rule prior to the game the teams will start over Saturday's second game on Sunday from the beginning of the contest.   

WHAT'S NEXT?
The teams are scheduled for two games on Sunday (one seven-inning game, one nine-inning game). Start time of Game 1 is tentatively scheduled for 1 p.m. Please check back to the baseball team's schedule page for the most updated schedule prior to attending Sunday's games.
 

About SUNY Canton
As Northern New York's premier college for career-driven bachelor's and associate degrees, SUNY Canton delivers quality hands-on programs in engineering technology, management, and healthcare fields. It is home to the Center for Criminal Justice, Intelligence and Cybersecurity. Faculty members are noted for their professional real-world experience in addition to outstanding academic credentials. As SUNY's leader in online education, SUNY Canton OnLine offers hundreds of flexible and convenient courses as well as 23 online degree programs. The SUNY Canton Kangaroos 15 traditional athletic teams compete at the NCAA Division III level as part of the North Atlantic Conference. SUNY Canton also features varsity esports and cheerleading.