NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The sixth-seeded State University of New York at New Paltz softball team begins play at the double-elimination State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Tournament on Thursday, May 1, at 9 a.m., taking on top-seeded and host SUNY Oneonta.
If the Hawks win their first game against Oneonta, they will play the loser of The No. 3 College at Brockport and No. 4 SUNY Geneseo game on Friday at 9 a.m. If the Hawks lose, they will play the loser of No. 2 SUNY Cortland and No. 5 Buffalo State game on Thursday at 3 p.m.
SCOUTING THE HAWKS (10-22, 7-11 SUNYAC): New Paltz dropped both games in a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) doubleheader on Saturday against Buffalo State, first losing 9-1 in five innings before falling 3-2 in 10 innings decided by the international tiebreaker rule… Despite the losses, New Paltz ended up qualifying as the No. 6 seed in the double-elimination SUNYAC Tournament, which will begin on Thursday, May 1, at 9 a.m. against top-seeded SUNY Oneonta… In game one of the Buffalo State twinbill, junior
Shayna Burgess, junior
Noelle Grande, junior
Meg Brewer, junior
Juliette Verso and senior
Amber Carozza each had one hit for the Hawks… In game two, the Hawks had four doubles coming from Brewer, sophomore
Nicole DeCosta, freshman
Kiersten Carlomagno and Verso.
STATISTICAL LEADERS: Grande (.378) and Burgess (.388) are the top two hitters in the Hawks' lineup… Burgess and Grande rank fourth and seventh in the SUNYAC in hitting, respectively… Burgess is tops on the team and fourth in the conference in slugging percentage (.622)… She ranks sixth in the conference in hits and 10th in runs scored… Burgess and Grande have been strong on the base paths, with 10 and eight stolen bases, respectively… Sophomore pitcher
Katie Rutcofsky has anchored the Hawks' pitching staff this year with 88 2/3 innings pitched, a 5-10 record and a 2.76 ERA… She has 47 strikeouts on the season... Senior pitcher
Amber Carozza has a 4-7 record in 72 innings pitched.
TEAM STATISTICS: New Paltz ranks sixth in the SUNYAC in batting average (.292), and the Hawks have also hit for power with a .397 slugging percentage… New Paltz has also been strong defensively with a .955 fielding percentage, which is third best in the SUNYAC.
COACH: New Paltz is led by first-year head coach
Brittany Robinson.
No. 1 Oneonta Red Dragons (25-9, 15-3 SUNYAC): TOP PLAYERS: Sophomore Traci Lichtenstein leads the Red Dragons offensively, batting .369 with 38 hits and 40 RBI… Lichtenstein has an impressive four home runs on the season… On par with Lichtenstein is junior Brianna Rivera, who is hitting .367 and leading the team with 40 total hits… Rivera adds 23 RBI with eight doubles and a team-high four triples on the season… Oneonta's ace is freshman Sabrina DeAngelis, who has a 1.70 ERA and a 14-5 overall record.
NOTES: The Red Dragons are currently on an eight-game winning streak, not having lost since April 13 against Brockport… Oneonta is the regular-season SUNYAC champion.
No. 2 Cortland Red Dragons (25-13, 14-4 SUNYAC): TOP PLAYERS: Cortland has many hitters batting over the 300 mark: sophomore Diane Cork (.361), sophomore Jamie Bucci (.346), sophomore Carrie Stoddard (.340), senior Alicia Hibbard (.336) and senior Meaghan Kohler (.330)… Cork leads the team with 44 hits and has knocked in 23 RBI, adding five home runs… Kohler leads the team with eight home runs on the season and has 30 RBI… Hibbard is also an impressive hitter, with eight doubles, five home runs and 34 RBI… The Red Dragons' go-to pitcher is junior Sarah Salamone (12-2)… She has thrown 92 1/3 innings, owns a 2.43 ERA and has struck out 33 batters… Senior Amber Corrigan also has impressive pitching stats, leading the team with a 2.02 ERA has a team-high 34 strikeouts.
NOTES: The Red Dragons have won six straight, including four games that were ended prematurely by the eight-run rule… Cortland won the tournament last year as well as in 2011 and 2010, and it was the national runner-up last season, too.
No. 3 Brockport Golden Eagles (23-9, 12-16 SUNYAC): TOP PLAYERS: The Golden Eagles have two players batting over 400, with junior Andrea Schell and senior Sarah Rosenbarker batting .430 and .416, respectively… They are tied for the team-high in hits with 37… Schell leads the team with 10 home runs and 34 RBI… The Golden Eagles also have many batters hitting in the .300 range, including junior Kelly Proper (.367), sophomore Brianna Harris (.337), junior Brianna Ferchen (.333) and junior Gabrielle Rivers (.305)… Brockport has two main pitchers: sophomores Korey Kibling and Emily Kolenda… Kibling has a 1.12 ERA, while Kolenda owns a 1.99 ERA.
NOTES: Brockport split its last SUNYAC doubleheader against visiting Buffalo State, falling, 3-2, before winning, 2-1… The Golden Eagles' last games against No. 4 Geneseo included a 3-2 loss and a 9-1 victory… Brockport has an 11-3 overall neutral record, so traveling to Oneonta for the playoffs may benefit the Golden Eagles.
No. 4 Geneseo Knights (18-14, 11-7 SUNYAC): TOP PLAYERS: Senior Sam Trapasso holds the team's best batting average, hitting .373… Trapasso adds 19 hits and 20 RBI… Senior Elise Porecca follows right behind her, hitting .329 and adding 28 hits, including three home runs and 23 RBI… Junior Ashley Fillmore is also an offensive threat, batting .293 and adding 27 hits, three home runs and seven RBI… The Knights rely mainly on two pitchers, junior Corrin Spallone (11-3) and sophomore Mikayla Moore (6-4)… They possess 2.03 and 2.40 ERAs, respectively.
NOTES: Geneseo split its last SUNYAC doubleheader at SUNY Plattsburgh, winning 7-2 before falling 5-4… Two days prior, the Knights swept SUNY Potsdam in a doubleheader, winning 9-6 in eight innings and 6-0.
No. 5 Buffalo State Bengals (18-14, 10-8 SUNYAC): TOP PLAYERS: Sophomore Stephanie Novo is the Bengals' biggest offensive threat, batting .439 on 50 hits including 13 doubles, four triples and two home runs… Novo has a .675 slugging percentage and has 37 runs scored… The Bengals have many strong hitters, including sophomore Jean Stahl (.409), junior Kate Brownell (.371), sophomore Sarah Gorski (.341) and junior Joanna Bardak (.315)… Bardak leads the team with 23 RBI… The Bengals main pitcher is junior Maddie Coneys (9-5)… She has a 2.18 ERA through 74 1/3 innings pitched.
NOTES: The Bengals are coming off a split doubleheader against Brockport… Prior to the split, the Bengals were swept on the road by Oneonta before traveling to New Paltz and getting a pair of wins… Buffalo State's last games against No. 2 Cortland included 5-3 and 5-2 losses at home.
