CORTLAND, N.Y. - Luis Misla (Tampa, FL/Riverview) tossed a four-hit shutout with a career-high 16 strikeouts and just one walk to lead Cortland past visiting New Paltz, 6-0, in the opening game of a three-game SUNYAC weekend series.
 
Cortland improved to 10-9 overall and 2-2 in the league while New Paltz suffered its first league loss and is now 12-7 overall and 3-1 in the conference. The teams will play a doubleheader at Cortland Saturday at noon.
 
Misla (4-2) is the fifth pitcher in school history to strike out at least 16 batters in a game. The school record is 17 by both Matt Valin versus Fredonia in 2019 and Allan Greenberg versus Le Moyne in 1967, with Misla matching the 16-strikeout performances by Eric Kwasniewski versus Hobart in 1995 and Dan Revai against Hartwick, in a 7-inning contest, in 1977.
 
Nick Marola (Saratoga/Scotia-Glenville) led the Cortland offense, going 2-for-3 with a homer and four RBI. Marc Stockhausen (Bronx/St. Raymond) was 2-for-3 with a hit by pitch and an RBI and Luke Schartner (Bayport/Bayport-Blue Point) was 1-for-4 with a double, walk and RBI. Talon Elkins (Syracuse/West Genesee) finished 1-for-3 and run scored and Nolan Smith (Hamburg) was 1-for-3 with a double, walk, hit by pitch and run scored.
 
New Paltz starting pitcher Kiran Paingankar went six and two thirds innings, allowing six runs, five earned, on nine hits with two walks and three strikeouts. Connor Catania gave up one hit and one walk with two strikeouts in an inning and a third.
 
New Paltz threatened early, leaving runners on first and third in both the first and third innings. Cortland took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Smith walked with two outs and scored on a Schartner double to right. The Red Dragons added a run in the third when Lucas Granger (Horseheads) led off with a single, went to third on a Smith double and scored on Stockhausen's two-out infield single.
 
In the bottom of the fifth, Zachary Kringdon (Larchmont/Mamaroneck) and Stockhausen led off with singles. After a strikeout and a fielder's choice force out at second, Marola hit a three-run homer to center to put Cortland up 5-0. Marola also drove in Cortland's final run with a two-out RBI single in the seventh.
 
Misla faced the minimum 18 batters over the final six innings. The Hawks' lone baserunner during that stretch came via a Matt Sarni one-out infield single in the fifth, but he was erased on a double play. Sarni finished 1-for-2 with a walk. Misla entered the ninth with 15 strikeouts and fanned the second batter he faced before a ground out ended the game.