ITHACA, N.Y. – Senior Mark Palumbo (Morristown, NJ) and junior Brandon McClain (Coram/Longwood) turned in solid starting pitching performances as nationally eighth-ranked Cortland opened SUNYAC play with a 13-3, 4-0 sweep over New Paltz at Cornell University's Hoy Field.

The Red Dragons (12-4, 2-0 SUNYAC) and the Hawks (8-10, 0-2 SUNYAC) will complete their three-game weekend series with a single game Saturday at noon, also at Cornell.

GAME 1: Cortland 13, New Paltz 3 (Box Score)

Palumbo pitched seven innings for the win in the nine-inning opener and improved to 2-0 on the season. He gave up five hits and two walks, struck out six, and allowed only one run in the top of the seventh with Cortland ahead 11-0 at the time.

The Red Dragons finished with 18 hits, led by junior Donny Castaldo (Mount Kisco/Fox Lane) who went 3-for-5 with a double, RBI, a hit-by-pitch and three runs scored. Senior Tim Panetta (Mount Kisco/Fox Lane) was 2-for-5 with a triple, double and two RBI and senior P.J. Rinaldi (Bethel, CT) was 2-for-2 with a walk and two RBI.

Senior Michael DeCarr (Syracuse/Westhill) hit a solo homer and finished 2-for-2 with an RBI and two runs. Junior Vinny Bomasuto (Dunkirk) was 2-for-3 with a walk and junior Mitch Hollander (Woodbury/Syosset) went 2-for-2 with a double and two runs. Senior Max Rosing (Rockville Centre/South Side) and senior Anthony Iacomini (South Salem/John Jay-Cross River) drove in three and two runs, respectively.

Brian Solomon started for New Paltz and allowed nine hits and seven runs, five earned, in three and a third innings. He struck out five and walked one. Chris Baltera was 1-for-1 with an RBI and Stanley DeLaCruz finished 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Cortland scored four in the second on a throwing error, a Castaldo RBI fielder's choice, a Rinaldi RBI single and a Rosing hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded. Iacomini's sacrifice fly and Rosing's two-run single extended the lead to 7-0 in the fourth.

The Red Dragons added two in the fifth on a Rinadi sacrifice fly and a Iacomini RBI single, and two more in the sixth on a Panetta two-run triple. Mark DeMilio (Valhalla) doubled in a run in the seventh and DeCarr hit a solo homer in the eighth.

DeLaCruz singled in the Hawks' first run in the seventh. New Paltz added two in the eighth on a Baltera RBI single and Steven Morse RBI groundout.

GAME 2: Cortland 4, New Paltz 0 (Box Score)

McClain and senior Steven Kimmelman (Riverhead) combined on the shutout in the seven-inning nightcap. McClain, now 4-0, gave up just two hits and two walks and struck out two in six innings. Kimmelman retired the side in order, including a strikeout, in the seventh.

All of the scoring in the game, which lasted just an hour and 26 minutes, came in the bottom of the first. Castaldo led off with a single, Rinaldi drew a one-out walk and Rosing hit an RBI single up the middle. Iacomini singled through the right side to drive in a run and Hollander plated a run with a sacrifice fly to right. The final run scored on Chris Jackson's (Wappingers Falls/Roy C. Ketcham) ground-rule double to right.

Chris Pyz went the distance for the Hawks and is 2-2 on the season. In six innings he gave up nine hits – five over the last five innings – with three strikeouts and one walk. The Hawks had only four baserunners, none one of which reached second base. Tyler Bell and DeLaCruz each finished 1-for-2.

Iacomini finished 3-for-3 with a double, RBI and run scored and Bryan Marotta (Clifton Park/Shenendehowa) was 2-for-3 as part of Cortland's nine-hit attack.