Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The State University of New York at New Paltz softball team opened up its season with a pair of wins on Sunday, as the Hawks won twice on their first day at the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic. New Paltz topped Eureka College, 9-3, in game one before downing Keystone College, 12-3, in game two.
 
New Paltz rises to 2-0 overall with the wins and plays a tripleheader tomorrow, facing Spalding (Ky.) University twice and the College of Mount Saint Vincent once. Eureka and Keystone drop to 0-1 and 0-2, respectively.
 
New Paltz 9, Eureka 3
 
A four-run sixth helped New Paltz cruise past Eureka in the first game of the day, as the Hawks scattered 11 hits in the contest.
 
New Paltz struck early, as senior third baseman Meg Brewer (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point) plated junior left fielder Fallon Spriggs (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) and freshman right fielder Julia Perhacs (Robbinsville, N.J./Robbinsville) off a two-run single to center field in the top of the first.
 
The Red Devils pulled within one run in the second, as freshman pitcher Kali George pushed across a run with the bases loaded off a single to center. New Paltz avoided a potential big inning, though, with the Hawks forcing two fielder's choice groundouts and a fly out to right to prevent any other runs from coming across.
 
Junior shortstop Jordan Fiore (Mount Sinai, N.Y./Mount Sinai) doubled in two runs in the fourth to make it a 4-1 game, while Eureka cut the deficit in half with an RBI single by freshman catcher Katie Lowery in the fifth. The Hawks' run production in the sixth started with an RBI base knock by senior pitcher Erika Traina (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore), and Fiore plated Traina two batters later. Freshman first baseman Lauren Cappello (New City, N.Y./Albertus Magnus) also touched home plate during Fiore's at-bat, as she scored on a throw that ultimately retired Fiore, who was heading to third.
 
Traina drove in a run in the top of the seventh off a groundout, while a Eureka runner came across in the bottom of the inning off an error.
 
Fiore and Brewer keyed the Hawk attack by going 2-for-3 and 2-for-4, respectively, with one double each. Fiore recorded three RBI, while Brewer drove in two runs. Perhacs finished with two stolen bases in two attempts, while senior catcher Shayna Burgess (Smithtown, N.Y./Commack) and Spriggs each had one steal. Junior pitcher Katie Rutcofsky (Plainview, N.Y./Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy) earned the win in the circle, striking out two batters while allowing one run off three hits in four innings of work, while Traina picked up the save.
 
Eureka's offense was powered by Lowery, who went 2-for-4 with an RBI. George shouldered the loss for the Red Devils, giving up nine runs (eight earned) off 11 hits and three walks in seven innings of work.
 
New Paltz 12, Keystone 3
 
The Hawk bats came alive in the nightcap, as New Paltz pounded out 16 hits against Keystone, while the New Paltz pitchers spun yet another gem in the circle.
 
Cappello opened scoring in the top of the first with an RBI single to right, but Keystone bounced back with a run in the bottom half of the inning. The Hawks gained a lead they would not relinquish in the top of the third, as Cappello and Brewer each drove in a run, while a third came across on an error.
 
The Giants scored once in the fifth before three more runs scored for New Paltz in the sixth off a two-run home run by Spriggs and an RBI single by Brewer. Keystone scored another run in the home half of the sixth off an RBI double, but the Hawks tacked on four runs of insurance in the top of the seventh to ensure the victory.
 
Five different Hawks finished with multi-hit games, led by Brewer's 4-for-5 performance at the plate that included four RBI, two doubles and a run scored. Spriggs (2-for-4, four runs scored, three RBI, one home run), Burgess (2-for-4, three runs scored, one RBI), Cappello (2-for-3, two RBI, one triple, one stolen base) and freshman right fielder Danielle Bruno (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East) (2-for-4, two runs scored) also finished with multiple hits.
 
Keystone's offensive production largely came from freshman left fielder Katie Thompson (2-for-4, two runs scored) and sophomore shortstop Antonette Scialpi (2-for-4, one RBI, one double).
 
Sophomore pitcher Kiersten Carlomagno (Commack, N.Y./Commack) yielded just one run off five hits while striking out five in four innings of work to earn the win, while sophomore pitcher Taylor Corwin (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) was credited with a save in three innings of relief work. Keystone's senior pitcher Sara Schraden was tagged with the loss, permitting 12 runs (10 earned) off 16 hits and six walks.