by Win Hadley
LOCH SHELDRAKE –The SUNY Sullivan Generals baseball team clubbed its way to a 16-5 victory against SUNY Ulster in a game played at Highland, NY on April 24 to record its twentieth win of the season.
It was the Generals third victory over the Senators in four tries this year, and the 16 runs they put on the board marked the fifth time they have scored 15 or more runs in a game in 2017.
With the win, Sullivan improved to 20-11 (with one tie game) on the season overall and 7 – 5 in the conference. Ulster dropped to 9 – 10 overall and 6 -6 in conference play.
On April 28, the Generals swept two games at home against Rockland with convincing 10-2 and 19-1 wins, pounding out 29 hits on the day. Sullivan batters hit four home runs in the opener, with Ronald Medina, Johann Paniagua, Manny Nova and Cain Ruiz all going deep. The offensive onslaught continued in the second game as Medina swatted a pair of homers and Jurg Steiger connected for a grand slam.
Paniagua’s blast in the opener was his ninth of the year, giving him 15 career home runs in a Generals uniform, a new school record. The sophomore third baseman hails from James Monroe High School in the Bronx.
On April 29, Rockland enacted a measure of revenge, winning both games of a doubleheader at home, by 10-8 and 15-5 scores.
On April 30, Sullivan captured an impressive 7-6 non-league win over the country’s number 4 team, the Community College of Morris, as Paniagua collected three hits and drove in three runs. It was just the fifth loss of the year for Morris, against 39 wins.
With the victory, the Generals improved to 23-13-1 on the season overall.