Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

ONEONTA, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz softball team (20-17, 11-7 SUNYAC) swept past SUNY Oneonta (8-28, 4-14 SUNYAC) in its final date of the 2013 regular season on Saturday at Red Dragon Softball Field, claiming a pair of State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) games. The Hawks won game one, 2-1, before prevailing, 12-2, in five innings in the nightcap. With the wins, New Paltz has locked up the No. 5 seed in the 2013 SUNYAC Tournament, which will run from Thursday, May 2, through Saturday, May 4, at The College at Brockport. New Paltz opens up the double-elimination tournament with an 11 a.m. game against second-seeded SUNY Cortland on Thursday.

In game one, senior pitcher Amber Carozza (Milton, N.Y./Marlboro) threw a one-hit complete game, allowing just one unearned run in a 2-1 victory.

Oneonta opened scoring in the first inning, as shortstop Chandler Campbell reached on a fielding error before first baseman Cassandra Kohler laced an RBI double to center field. That would be the last of the Red Dragons' offensive production, as Carozza settled in and retired the next 20 batters in order.

Despite Carozza's dominance in the circle, the Red Dragons' 1-0 lead held up until the top of the seventh. Senior second baseman Melissa Liotta (Brentwood, N.Y./St. John the Baptist) drew a walk to lead off the inning, and sophomore right fielder Marissa Monaco (Bohemia, N.Y./Connetquot) hit an infield single to put runners on first and second with no outs. Junior first baseman Chelsea Kull (Manorville, N.Y./Eastport South Manor) drove in Liotta with a single to left center, while sophomore third baseman Meg Brewer (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point) plated the eventual winning run off a sacrifice fly to left field. Carozza induced three groundouts in the bottom of the frame to secure the victory.

Kull was the lone Hawk to have more than one hit, as she went 2-for-3 with an RBI.

Carozza was just short of a no-hitter and a perfect game, as she permitted just two base runners all contest. One reached by means of an error, while the other came aboard on a hit. Carozza also struck out four. Katie O'Flynn was the hard-luck loser in the circle for Oneonta, giving up two runs on five hits and a walk while striking out three.

New Paltz broke game two open in the top of the first, scoring 10 runs. Defensive miscues plagued the Red Dragons in the nightcap, as they committed eight errors, six of which came in the first inning.

The Hawks batted around and then some in the first, collecting five hits and drawing two walks. After Kull scored Liotta with a two-out single to left field, New Paltz mounted an insurmountable 10-0 advantage.

Both teams were kept off the scoreboard in the second and third innings, but Oneonta got one back in the home half of the fourth, as second baseman Jamie Whittam pushed across an unearned run with a single to left field. New Paltz staged a two-out rally in the fifth, as Kull singled through the left side before senior right fielder Andrea Feeney (Ulster Park, N.Y./Kingston) came across on a fielding error. Oneonta plated a run with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, with left fielder Kelly Graham scoring pinch runner Gemma Mahoney with an RBI single down the right-field line. Graham was thrown out trying to reach second, however, as freshman catcher Jordan Fiore (Mount Sinai, N.Y./Mount Sinai) threw a dart to sophomore shortstop Emily Mouillesseaux (Endicott, N.Y./Union-Endicott) to end the game.

Fiore had a big offensive performance for the Hawks in game two, as she went 3-for-4 with two RBI, two runs scored and a triple. Whittam led the Red Dragon bats by going 2-for-2 with an RBI.

Freshman pitcher Katie Rutcofsky (Plainview, N.Y./Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy) earned the win, yielding two runs, one of which was earned, on four hits, two hit by pitches and a walk while striking out five. Rachel Hitt tossed just two-thirds of an inning for Oneonta and shouldered the loss, giving up 10 runs, one of which was earned, on five hits and two walks. Stephanie Gaska hurled the final 4 1/3 innings and pitched effectively, permitting two unearned runs on five hits and a walk while striking out four.

New Paltz has assured itself of its 13th winning season in program history, and it will be making its eighth appearance in the SUNYAC Tournament next week.