Box Score (Game 1)
Box Score (Game 2)

FREDONIA, N.Y. – Eleven errors across two games hurt the State University of New York at New Paltz softball team (11-15, 3-9 SUNYAC), as the Hawks fell by scores of 12-4 and 6-5 against SUNY Fredonia (21-6, 9-4 SUNYAC) Friday afternoon in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) doubleheader at Blue Devil Field. The 12-4 defeat was five innings in duration.

With the sweep, Fredonia clinched a spot in the 2011 SUNYAC Softball Tournament, its first appearance in the conference postseason event since 2004.

New Paltz scored four times in the first in game one, capturing a significant portion of the momentum early. Senior pitcher/center fielder Jillian Gallagher (Buchanan, N.Y.) and junior left fielder Kristen Schork (Warwick, N.Y.) each scored on wild pitches before junior right fielder/second baseman Shelby Martin (New Paltz, N.Y.) drove in freshman second baseman/designated player Chelsea Kull (Manorville, N.Y.) by drawing a bases-loaded hit by pitch. Junior catcher Jenna Curcio (Conklin, N.Y.) drove in the final run of the frame for the Hawks when she pushed across junior first baseman Cassie Barcavage (Cold Spring, N.Y.).

The Blue Devils answered back in the home half of the inning with a run, and they cut the deficit to one with a two-run third. Six Fredonia runs off six hits and three errors in the fourth doomed the Hawks, and the Blue Devils ended the game in the fifth when Julie Arnold enacted the eight-run rule with a two-run single.

Gallagher was charged with the loss in the circle for New Paltz, working 4 2/3 innings. She gave up eight runs—three of which were earned—off eight hits and two walks to complement her two strikeouts. Fredonia's Jennifer Tighe got the starting nod in the circle, but she was pulled after giving up four runs in one-third of an inning. Raela Wiley held the Hawks in check, scattering five hits over 4 2/3 scoreless innings of relief.

The New Paltz offense was fueled by Gallagher, who went 2-for-3 with one run scored, and Curcio, who batted 2-for-3 with one RBI. Four Blue Devils had more than one hit, and Katie Bartkowiak led the way by going 3-for-4 with two runs scored.

A back-and-forth battle ensued in the nightcap, and despite pounding out 11 hits, New Paltz was stunned, losing in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the seventh. On the contest, the Hawks left 12 runners on base, while the Blue Devils stranded nine.

Barcavage plated a run off an RBI single in the first before Liotta drew a bases-loaded walk in the second to give New Paltz the early 2-0 lead. A three-run homer by Lauren Larson put the Blue Devils on top, but Liotta's two-run single tilted the score back in favor of the visitors.

A four-error fifth allowed one run to come across for Fredonia to level the tally at 4-all, but New Paltz recaptured the edge in the sixth when junior third baseman Samantha Barra (Islip, N.Y.) scored Schork.

A walk and two costly errors in the bottom of the seventh gave Arnold a bases-loaded situation with no outs, and she ended the ballgame with a two-run double.

Senior pitcher Courtney Costello (Bayport, N.Y.) hurled three innings in the circle for the Hawks, surrendering three runs off four hits and two walks while striking out one. Freshman pitcher Emily Frawley (White Plains, N.Y.) was handed the loss in relief, giving up three runs—one of which was earned—off three hits and two walks. For Fredonia, Ashley LaPorta threw four innings and yielded four runs off seven hits and four walks, earning a no decision. Danielle Shelp gained the win, permitting one run off four hits in three frames of relief work.

Barra's bat was hot, pacing the Hawk offense with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate that included one RBI and a double. Gallagher (2-for-5, one run) and Curcio (2-for-4, one run) also had multi-hit performances, while Liotta recorded three RBI on the game. Tina Schwartzmeyer led Fredonia by going 2-for-3 with a run, while Larson and Arnold each drove in three runs.

New Paltz looks to right the ship tomorrow in Buffalo, N.Y., taking on Buffalo State in a SUNYAC doubleheader. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.