Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

OSWEGO, N.Y. – In the first of four State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) series for the State University of New York at New Paltz softball team this week on Tuesday afternoon at Laker Softball Field, the Hawks gained a key doubleheader sweep over the Lakers. New Paltz won game one, 4-3, in 10 innings before winning game two, 5-1.

The Hawks rise to 16-11 overall (8-4 SUNYAC) with the wins and visit SUNY Cortland tomorrow for a 3 p.m. doubleheader. The Lakers drop to 3-19 overall (1-15 SUNYAC) with the losses and visit SUNY Potsdam on Saturday, April 25, at 12 p.m. in their final SUNYAC doubleheader of the season.

New Paltz 4, Oswego 3 (10 inn.)

In what has been a SUNYAC schedule full of close games for the Hawks, game one of the doubleheader played out similarly to several other conference games for New Paltz this year. It marked the Hawks' third extra-inning SUNYAC game this year and their second to last 10 innings.

New Paltz scored the first run of the game in the top of the first, as junior right fielder Fallon Spriggs (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) doubled in senior catcher Shayna Burgess (Smithtown, N.Y./Commack). Oswego countered with two runs in the bottom of the second to take the lead, while junior second baseman Jordan Fiore (Mount Sinai, N.Y./Mount Sinai) tied the score at 2-all in the top of the fifth with an RBI single.

After four-and-a-half scoreless innings, New Paltz took advantage of the placed runner on second in the 10th inning, as a throwing error allowed the go-ahead run to score. With Fiore on third after that error and a wild pitch, freshman left fielder Julia Perhacs (Robbinsville, N.J./Robbinsville) pushed her across with an infield single, staking the Hawks to a 4-2 lead.

With the runner placed on second to start the bottom of the 10th, Oswego used two straight ground outs to cut the deficit to one, but with the bases empty, the Lakers were unable to generate offense, as the Hawks forced a ground out to freshman first baseman Lauren Cappello (New City, N.Y./Albertus Magnus) to end the game.

New Paltz rapped out 13 hits in game one, and Burgess keyed the offense by going 4-for-5 with one run scored, one double and a stolen base. Perhacs, Carlomagno and junior pitcher Katie Rutcofsky (Plainview, N.Y./Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy) also had multiple hits for the Hawks. For Oswego, junior shortstop Tori Trovato batted 2-for-4 with one run scored and a double.

Rutcofsky earned the win in the circle, yielding two runs (one earned) off six hits, three hit by pitches and a walk while striking out 10 over nine innings of work. Senior pitcher Erika Traina (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore) picked up the save, allowing a team unearned run in the bottom of the 10th off three ground outs. Junior pitcher Lisa O'Callaghan shouldered the loss for the Lakers.

New Paltz 5, Oswego 1

Two big hits accounted for 80 percent of the Hawks' scoring output in game two, and defensively, the Hawks stranded 12 Laker runners in the nightcap win.

Senior third baseman Meg Brewer (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point) got the Hawk offense going early, plating Spriggs and Carlomagno with a two-run single to center field in the first inning. In the third, Spriggs added to her single-season program record in home runs by swatting her seventh of the season, and that two-run shot gave New Paltz a 4-0 edge. Later on in the inning, Cappello plated Brewer with an RBI groundout to add insurance.

While Oswego threatened numerous times during the game, its only run production came in the sixth inning. Freshman pinch hitter Amanda Pfitscher scored senior catcher Alexandra Mckay, but even with Pfitscher on third with no outs, the Lakers were unable to cut into the deficit any further.

Brewer paced the Hawk offense in game two by going 2-for-3 with two RBI, one run scored and a double. The Lakers, who scattered 10 hits during the contest, had a pair of 3-for-4 performances from sophomore second baseman Dana Taglioni and Trovato.

Sophomore pitcher Taylor Corwin (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) picked up the complete-game win in the circle for New Paltz, allowing just one run off 10 hits and a walk while striking out two. Sophomore pitcher Katie Heselden was tagged with the loss for Oswego in two innings of work, while junior pitcher Alexandria Connelly was effective in five innings of relief, permitting just two hits and two walks while striking out two.