NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz softball team (15-12, 8-4 SUNYAC) dropped a pair of State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) games for the second day in a row, as the Hawks lost twice to SUNY Geneseo (14-12, 7-3 SUNYAC) on Sunday afternoon at Mary Gray Deane Field. The Blue Knights won game one, 4-2, before taking the nightcap, 9-3.

Geneseo enjoyed a big first two innings offensively in game one, and the lead it constructed stood up throughout the remainder of the contest.

The Blue Knights initiated scoring in the first inning, as Samantha Trapasso doubled to center field, advanced to third on a wild pitch and came home on a Jessica Steubing single. With two outs in the top of the second, Geneseo received a two-run double from Samantha Brown, and Samantha Trapasso plated Brown during the ensuing at-bat to make it a 4-0 game. Trapasso was thrown out trying to advance to second on that play, which ended the inning.

New Paltz chipped away at the deficit in the fourth. Senior second baseman Melissa Liotta (Brentwood, N.Y./St. John the Baptist) led off the inning with a single up the middle, and after sophomore right fielder Marissa Monaco (Bohemia, N.Y./Connetquot) took her place on first by grounding into a fielder's choice, junior first baseman Chelsea Kull (Manorville, N.Y./Eastport South Manor) put runners on first and second with a single to right field. Sophomore third baseman/pitcher Meg Brewer (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point) cleared the bases with a double to left center, and the Hawks pulled within two runs.

The Hawks avoided a potential Blue Knight scoring spree in the seventh, as Geneseo loaded the bases with one out. Steubing hit a ground ball right at Brewer, which she then threw home to prevent the run from scoring. The inning ended with another Blue Knight batter grounding into a fielder's choice, as Liotta made the short throw to sophomore shortstop Emily Mouillesseaux (Endicott, N.Y./Union-Endicott) at second.

Sophomore left fielder Noelle Grande (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) led off the bottom of the seventh with a single, but Geneseo recorded three straight outs to end the game.


Brewer keyed the Hawk offense in the front end of the twinbill, going 3-for-3 with two RBI and a double. Liotta also boasted a multi-hit performance, going 2-for-4. For Geneseo, Brown (2-for-4, two RBI, one run scored, one double), Trapasso (2-for-3, one run scored, one RBI, one double) and Kayleigh Blersch (2-for-3) had multi-hit outings.

Senior pitcher Amber Carozza (Milton, N.Y./Marlboro) was tagged with the loss in game one, giving up four runs on 10 hits and two walks while striking out two. Katie Gallagher earned the win for the Blue Knights, allowing two runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out one.

Geneseo pounded out 14 hits to New Paltz's seven in game two, scoring in bunches in the middle innings.

Monaco opened scoring in the nightcap, as she gave New Paltz its first lead of the day by homering to left field in the second. That advantage did not last long, though, as Geneseo plated three runs in the third. Trapasso drove in two runs with a single up the middle, while Lexi Williams brought in one run with a single to right field.

The Hawks got one back in the bottom of the third, with sophomore center fielder/catcher Shayna Burgess (Smithtown, N.Y./Commack) igniting the rally with a double to left center. She advanced to third on a wild pitch before freshman catcher/designated player Jordan Fiore (Mount Sinai, N.Y./Mount Sinai) pushed her across with a double to left center.

Geneseo swelled its lead in the top of the fourth. With a runner on second with two outs, Ashley Fillmore tripled to center field to bring in the runner. During the Blue Knights' next at-bat, Brown plated Fillmore with a triple of her own, and they took a 5-2 advantage. Geneseo added to that lead in the fifth, as Blersch scored Steubing with a single up the middle.

New Paltz made it a three-run game in the home half of the fifth, as Burgess doubled to center field to bring in senior designated player/center fielder Andrea Feeney (Ulster Park, N.Y./Kingston). Feeney reached base by means of a lead-off double.

The Blue Knights pieced together another productive inning in the sixth, as they scored three runs with one out. Steubing plated Fillmore with a bases-loaded single to center field, while Williams drove in two runs with a single down the left-field line in the ensuing at-bat. New Paltz registered two straight outs following Williams' RBI base knock, but Geneseo exited the frame with a 9-3 lead. That edge held up through the final inning and a half of play, and the Blue Knights completed the sweep.

Burgess went 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles, a run scored and an RBI in the nightcap. Kull also batted well for the Hawks in game two, going 2-for-3 with a triple. Five Blue Knight players finished with multiple hits, with Steubing's 3-for-4 performance leading the way. Steubing had two doubles, a run scored and an RBI.

Brewer suffered the game-two loss in the circle, yielding six runs—five of which were earned—on nine hits and a hit by pitch while striking out two. Freshman pitcher Katie Rutcofsky (Plainview, N.Y./Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy) hurled three innings of relief for the Hawks and gave up three runs—two of which were earned—on five hits and one walk while striking out three. Corrin Spallone captured the win for Geneseo, permitting three runs on seven hits and a hit by pitch while striking out four.

New Paltz returns to action on Wednesday, April 17, as it squares off with non-conference Mount Saint Mary College in a 3:30 p.m. doubleheader in Newburgh, N.Y.