Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 CORTLAND, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz softball team (18-15, 9-7 SUNYAC) saw two comeback bids fall short on Sunday in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) doubleheader, as the Hawks lost twice to SUNY Cortland (18-12, 11-3 SUNYAC) at Red Dragon Softball Field. The Red Dragons prevailed, 5-3, in game one before completing the sweep with a 7-6 victory in the nightcap.

New Paltz broke up a Cortland no-hitter in the fifth, but the Red Dragons spoiled the Hawks' shutout bid in the home half of the frame with five runs—the entirety of their scoring output in the contest.

Junior first baseman Chelsea Kull (Manorville, N.Y./Eastport South Manor) initiated scoring in the fifth, homering to left field. Cortland responded in the home half of the frame, pushing across five runs to make it a 5-1 ballgame. Designated player/left fielder Diane Cork hit Cortland's fourth straight single in the inning, pushing across pinch runner Jennifer Ranieri to level to the tally at 1-all. The Hawks saw light at the end of the tunnel by recording the second out—preventing a run from scoring in the process—but Cortland seized the lead after second baseman Lucia Meola drew a bases-loaded walk. First baseman Alicia Hibbard broke the game open in the Red Dragons' next at-bat, doubling to right center and driving in three runs. After that bases-clearing hit, Cortland took at 5-1 lead.

New Paltz staged a two-out rally in the sixth, as sophomore left fielder Noelle Grande (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) singled to the catcher before senior second baseman Melissa Liotta (Brentwood, N.Y./St. John the Baptist) ripped a two-run home run down the left-field line. Sophomore right fielder Marissa Monaco (Bohemia, N.Y./Connetquot) singled through the right side and Kull walked to put runners on first and second, but the Red Dragons recorded a strikeout to end the inning. Cortland retired the side in order in the seventh to claim the game-one win.

No Hawk had more than a hit in the front end of the doubleheader, while third baseman Courtney Kadish (2-for-3, one double) and catcher Briana Barca (2-for-3) each boasted multiple hits for Cortland.

Senior pitcher Amber Carozza (Milton, N.Y./Marlboro) was saddled with the loss, giving up five runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out four. Cortland's Amber Corrigan pitched a complete game, too, yielding three runs on four hits and two walks while striking out six.

New Paltz had the winning run on first base with two runners on in the seventh, but Cortland ended up forcing a timely groundout to end the game and complete the sweep.

In the top of the seventh, with Cortland up 7-4, sophomore shortstop Emily Mouillesseaux (Endicott, N.Y./Union-Endicott) and junior third baseman Melissa Kump (Glendale, N.Y./Archbishop Molloy) drew back-to-back walks to lead off the inning. After the Red Dragons induced a pop out to register the inning's first out, sophomore center fielder/catcher Shayna Burgess (Smithtown, N.Y./Commack) singled to the pitcher to load the bases. Grande singled through the left side to bring in Mouillesseaux, while Liotta reached on a fielder's choice to plate Kump. Cortland opted to get the out at third, which put runners on first and second with two outs. The Red Dragons then forced a groundout to second base to end the contest during the next at-bat.

Cortland relied on a five-run second to initiate scoring. Cork drove in two runs with a single up the middle, while pinch hitter Beth Lamison singled through the left side to push the score to 3-0. Meola plated two runs with a double to right center, but the inning ended when she was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple.

New Paltz got two back in the top half of the third, with Burgess coming across on a Liotta single before Liotta scored on a double by senior designated player Andrea Feeney (Ulster Park, N.Y./Kingston). The Red Dragons countered in the bottom of the frame, as designated player Nicole Gallo drove in center fielder Cassie Kardias with a single up the middle.

The Hawks made it a two-run game in the fourth. Freshman catcher Jordan Fiore (Mount Sinai, N.Y./Mount Sinai) scored on a bases-loaded fielder's choice play after an errant throw allowed her to come across, while Feeney plated Burgess with a single to first base. The Red Dragons increased their lead to three in the bottom of the fifth on a sacrifice fly, and that ended up setting the stage for the Hawks' eventful seventh-inning rally.

Burgess (2-for-3, two runs scored) and Feeney (2-for-4, two RBI) each had a multi-hit performance for the Hawks in game two, while Cork (2-for-4, two RBI, one run scored), Meola (2-for-3, two RBI, one run scored) and Gallo (2-for-3, one run scored, one RBI) paced the Red Dragon bats.

Sophomore pitcher Erika Traina (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore) absorbed the loss after permitting seven runs on eight hits, a walk and a hit by pitch. Freshman pitcher Katie Rutcofsky (Plainview, N.Y./Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy) took over and scattered just three hits in two frames of relief. Cortland's Sarah Salamone earned the win, allowing four runs, two of which were earned, on seven hits, two walks and two hit by pitches while striking out five. Reliever Sarah Sampere was credited with the save after giving up two runs on two hits and four walks over the final two innings.

New Paltz plays in its final home doubleheader of the 2013 season on Wednesday, April 24, facing Union (N.Y.) College in a non-league twinbill at 3 p.m.