NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz softball team looks to battle its way into the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Tournament this weekend, as it entertains SUNY Geneseo on Friday, April 24, in a 3 p.m. doubleheader before hosting The College at Brockport on Saturday, April 25, in a 12 p.m. twinbill.
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RECORDS: The Hawks are 16-13 overall and 8-6 in the SUNYAC with a 1-1 home record… The Knights are 22-9 overall, 11-3 in conference and have a 6-2 away record… The Golden Eagles are 16-14 overall, 8-6 in conference and 4-2 on the road.
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SCOUTING THE HAWKS (16-13, 8-6): New Paltz fell twice to SUNYAC opponent SUNY Cortland Wednesday afternoon, 3-2 and 5-1… In game one, New Paltz and Cortland went back and forth scoring runs…  Freshman left fielder
Danielle Bruno opened scoring with a solo home run in the top of the third, but the Red Dragons responded on the bottom half of the inning with a home run as well… Junior right fielder
Fallon Spriggs and Bruno each went 2-for-2 for the Hawks… Junior pitcher
Katie Rutcofsky recorded the loss giving up three runs (two earned) off six hits, one hit by pitch, and two strikeouts… In game two, New Paltz fell behind early 4-0 before senior catcher
Shayna Burgess  got the Hawks on the board with an RBI single in the sixth that brought in junior second baseman
Jordan Fiore.
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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS: Â Freshman outfielder
Julia Perhacs leads all of the SUNYAC in batting average (.446), and
Fallon Spriggs leads in home runs (7)… Burgess is ranked 15th in the conference in doubles (7), and
Meg Brewer is 16th in RBI (18).
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TEAM STATISTICS: Hawks rank fourth in the SUNYAC in batting average (.310) and third in runs scored (177)… New Paltz leads the conference in home runs (22), RBI (168) and slugging percentage (.459)… The Hawks are also fifth in doubles (44).
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SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS (22-9, 11-3): The Knights are coming off a doubleheader non-conference sweep over the Rochester Institute of Technology, 6-3 and 7-3… In game one, Geneseo was led by junior Cat Krok who hit a home run after to cap off a four-run opening inning… Freshman third baseman Claire VanNewirk went 3-for-4 in game one with two runs and three RBI… Sophomore left fielder Alyssa Presutti also helped offensively by going 2-for-3 with a run and two RBI… Junior pitcher Mikayla Moore clinched her eighth win on the season… In game two, senior catcher Alyssa Filmore led the Knights by going 3-for-4 with two runs and one RBI… Freshman third baseman Emily Martin also went 3-for-4 with one run… Senior pitcher Corrin Spallone gained the win, bringing her to 13-4 on the season… The Knights are currently ranked eighth in the Northeast for Division III and are on an 18-game winning streak, the longest in program history since 2002.
INDIVIDUAL STATSISTICS: Junior Jenna Phillips ranks 10th in the conference in batting average (.397), while senior Sami Brown is seventh in the conference in runs scored (24)… Senior Kayleigh Blersch is seventh in the SUNYAC in doubles (9), while junior Courtney Budynas is ranked sixth in the SUNYAC in home runs (4).
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TEAM STATISTICS: The Knights are third in the conference in batting average (.313) and second in runs scored (184)… Geneseo is second in both doubles (50) and triples (7).
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LAST MEETING: Hawks split with Knights last year, losing game one, 7-5, before winning game two, 1-0, on Sunday, April 13, 2014
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SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES (16-14, 8-6): Brockport swept SUNYAC opponent SUNY Fredonia Wednesday afternoon in a doubleheader, 9-1 and 10-9… In the sweep, the team tallied 20 hits, including three home runs, five doubles and one triple… In game one, the Golden Eagles struggled to get runners on base, but exploded in the fifth inning with six runs… Proper and freshman Shelby Perry each hit a two-run single before Buckley launched a home run to left field to give Brockport an 8-1 lead… The Golden Eagles scored their final run of the game in the sixth, as senior Nicole Atkins scored on a single from Harris… In game two, Proper tripled to right field, freshman Karleigh Eaton hit a double down the left-field line and junior Delaney Buckley hit a home run, all with two outs in the top of the first to jump out to an early 4-0 lead, and Brockport was able to keep the lead the entire game even after Fredonia had comebacks… Junior pitcher Jaime Berger earned the win after pitching a complete game and striking out eight.
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STATISTICAL LEADERS: Senior Brianna Ferchen leads the SUNYAC in stolen bases (21) and ranks fourth in runs scored (28), fifth in hits (39) and seventh in batting average (.402)… Proper is currently in third in RBI (27) and home runs (6) and fourth in slugging percentage (.696)… Junior Brianna Harris is tied for fourth in doubles (10).
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TEAM STATISTICS: The Golden Eagles rank third in the SUNYAC in home runs (14) and second in hit by pitch (19)… Brockport ranks third in fewest strikeouts (113) and fourth in fielding percentage (.944).
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LAST MEETING: The Hawks were swept by the Golden Eagles, 4-3 and 1-0, on Monday, April 14, 2014.
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WHAT'S NEXT: New Paltz's and Brockport's fate earning a spot in the SUNYAC tournament depends on this final regular-season SUNYAC weekend… Geneseo secured a spot into playoffs… SUNYAC Tournament play begins Thursday, April 30, and continues through Saturday, May 2.
