Fredonia State junior Christian Cabrera was named the SUNYAC Baseball Athlete of the Week after helping the Blue Devils to a 4-1 start to the season. Photo courtesy of Fredonia State Athletics

Fredonia’s Christian Cabrera is this week’s SUNYAC Baseball Athlete of the Week, while Cortland’s Luis Misla is the Pitcher of the Week.

Cabrera led the Fredonia baseball team to a 4-1 start to the season by batting .542 (13-for-24) with 11 RBI, seven runs scored, and five extra-base hits this past week. He did not strike out and walked twice. After a 1-for-4 performance in a 9-1 win at Keuka, Cabrera went 3-for-5 in each of the next four games, which included a 10-7 win over Ohio Wesleyan, a 7-6 win over Gwynedd Mercy, a 7-4 win over Rurgers-Newark, and a 21-14 loss to Clarkson. His homerun during the week was a go-ahead, three-run blast that broke a 10-10 at the time, before Clarkson battled back. He also had two triples and two doubles for a .917 slugging percentage.

Misla earned the win at nationally seventh-ranked Trinity University (Texas) on Friday after tossing six shutout innings in an 8-5 victory. He gave up five hits, struck out eight and did not walk anyone. This is Misla’s second Pitcher of the Week honor this season.

BASEBALL

BLUE DEVILS CONTINUE HOT START

DAVENPORT, Fla. — Down 6-1 in the early going, the Fredonia State baseball team used clutch hitting, aggressive baserunning, and outstanding relief pitching to claim an 8-7 win over Vassar on Tuesday.

After scoring twice in the bottom of the eighth inning to break a 6-6 tie, Vassar used a one-out double and a triple to cut the lead to one run. With the tying run 90 feet away, relief pitcher Connor Burkestone struck out the final two batters to end the game. He finished with three strikeouts in 1 2/3 innings of work.

Lefty reliever Nick Syposs helped set up the win with 4 1/3 innings of relief, allowing just one hit and punching out two. He gave up one unearned run.

With one out in the bottom of the eighth, a strikeout in the dirt resulted in a throw to first. Brady Ventura dashed home on the throw and beat the tag to put the Devils up one. The play was set up when Brady Ventura and Dominic Hickok executed a double steal after a failed sacrifice bunt attempt. Kyle Tedford followed with his second RBI single for the needed insurance run. Tedford and Hickok both had two hits and two RBI.

The Devils were trailing 6-1 in the bottom of the sixth when they exploded for five runs. The rally was keyed by a two-run base hit by Andrew Tucker.

Christian Cabrera and Alex Ahlstrom also had two hits and a double.

The Devils take on Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Brockport today.

SOFTBALL

DAY 3 ENDS WITH HEARTBREAKING LOSS

CLERMONT, Fla. — Fredonia State’s bid to win its first game of the season ended in a heartbreaking 6-5 loss Tuesday to Hope College at the Legends Way complex.

Earlier in the morning, the Blue Devils fell to No. 21 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, 4-0. The two losses dropped the Blue Devils to 0-6.

“There was improvement in all three areas,” Head Coach Tony Ciccarello said after the doubleheader. “We started making plays that we weren’t making earlier in the week,and we started getting hits that we weren’t getting earlier in the week. These are things we can build on later in the week.”

The Blue Devils, idle today, return to action Thursday when they face Amherst College at 2 p.m., and Simpson College after the completion of the first game. Both games will be played at Hancock Park.

The Blue Devils led 4-0 early, but Hope rallied for four runs in the last of the sixth. The key blow was a three-run homer off losing pitcher Sabrina Edwards-Smith. Fredonia State starting pitcher Vanessa Galbraith left after four innings with a 5-2 lead.

It was the best offensive showing so far for the Blue Devils, who collected seven hits — two each by Maddy Devore and Madison Lowe. Each of them also had one RBI.

In the day’s first game, the Blue Devils and nationally ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater were locked in a 1-0 battle until the top of the seventh. Fredonia State starting pitcher Kendall Phillips had her third strong showing of the spring — the first two in relief — but her team’s inability to deliver a key hit, especially early, led to the defeat. The Blue Devils left 10 runners stranded, including the bases loaded twice.

“Kendall has been a great addition to the pitching staff,” Ciccarello said of the SUNY Brockport transfer. “She fits the culture and the other pitchers took her in and made her feel at home.”