Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – After a 6-5 game-one loss to Mount Saint Mary College in a non-conference doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon at Mary Gray Deane Field, the State University of New York at New Paltz softball team used a five-run sixth inning to down the Knights, 6-3, in game two to salvage a home-opening split.

New Paltz moves to 13-8 overall and returns to State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action on Friday, April 17, visiting Buffalo State for a 3 p.m. doubleheader. Mount Saint Mary moves to 12-8 overall and continues its stretch of 10 games in five days tomorrow at 4 p.m. when it visits Sarah Lawrence College for a 4 p.m. Skyline Conference doubleheader.

Mount Saint Mary 6, New Paltz 5

After trailing, 5-2, Mount Saint Mary scored twice in the fourth inning and twice in the fifth inning to eke out a 6-5 victory.

Junior right fielder Fallon Spriggs (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) gave the Hawks significant momentum in the first, clearing the bases with a three-run double to left field. Mount Saint Mary answered back in the top half of the second, though, with sophomore shortstop Breanna DePasquale blasting a two-run homer to left center.

Senior center fielder Shayna Burgess (Smithtown, N.Y./Commack) pushed the Hawk edge to 5-2 in the bottom of the second, however, as she doubled in two runs.

Mount Saint Mary drew within one in the top of the fourth, as two runs came across with two outs after a dropped fly ball, and in the fifth, sophomore first baseman Michelle Surdan and freshman designated player Cindy Connoly each drove in a run to give the Knights the lead.

With the bases loaded with one out in the top of the seventh, Mount Saint Mary appeared poised for a big offensive inning, but Burgess ended the frame by doubling up the Knights, catching a routine fly ball before throwing out a runner headed for home. New Paltz ended up getting runners on first and second with two outs in the bottom half of the seventh, but the Knights induced a ground out to end the game.

Freshman left fielder Julia Perhacs (Robbinsville, N.J./Robbinsville) keyed the Hawk attack by going 3-for-4 with two runs scored, while Burgess and sophomore shortstop Kiersten Carlomagno (Commack, N.Y./Commack) each batted 2-for-3. Surdan led Mount Saint Mary with a 3-for-3 performance that included three runs scored, one RBI and a double.

New Paltz used three pitchers in the loss, yielding six runs (four earned) off 11 hits. Junior pitcher Victoria Goldbach allowed five runs off nine hits, three walks and two hit by pitches in the winning effort for the Knights.

New Paltz 6, Mount Saint Mary 3

New Paltz's five-run sixth completed a come-from-behind effort in the nightcap.

With one out, junior Nicole DeCosta (Stormville, N.Y./John Jay-East Fishkill) and sophomore Tierney Hornbeck (Albany, N.Y./Albany) came up big as pinch hitters, scattering back-to-back base hits. Senior center fielder Alex Verso (Commack, N.Y./Commack) doubled in DeCosta to make it a 3-2 game, while freshman left fielder Danielle Bruno (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East) tied things up with an RBI single up the middle. Burgess plated Bruno and Verso with a single through the left side before freshman first baseman Lauren Cappello (New City, N.Y./Albertus Magnus) rounded out the inning's scoring with an RBI double that pushed across Burgess.

Mount Saint Mary received a two-run single from Connoly to open scoring in the first, while Spriggs drove in a run for the Hawks in the home half of the inning. The middle innings featured strong pitching and defense from both teams, with the side being retired in as few as four pitches on some occasions. Surdan finally added some offensive clout to the game for the Knights in the top of the sixth, which set the stage for the Hawks' five-run surge in the bottom of the inning.

Eight different Hawks had a hit in the contest, with Verso's 2-for-3 performance being New Paltz's lone multi-hit outing. Freshman pitcher Courtney Barbara (2-for-4, one double) and Surdan (2-for-4, two runs scored, one RBI, one home run) keyed the Knight attack.

Senior pitcher Erika Traina (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore) earned the win in the circle for New Paltz, yielding three runs (one earned) off five hits and two walks while striking out four. Senior designated player/pitcher Meg Brewer (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point) was credited with the save, allowing just one hit in the bottom of the seventh. Barbara went the distance for Mount Saint Mary and shouldered the loss, allowing six runs (five earned) off nine hits, two hit by pitches and a walk while striking out one.