Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz softball team ended its season on a positive note on Monday at Mary Gray Deane Field, using a game-two walk-off hit to secure a non-conference doubleheader sweep over Brooklyn College. The Hawks won game one, 7-1, before prevailing, 5-4, in game two.

Senior catcher Shayna Burgess (Smithtown, N.Y./Commack) finished out her career with 64 hit by pitches, a feat likely seen just once before in NCAA Division III softball. At this time, there is no career record book kept by the NCAA for career hit by pitches, but the University of Redlands' Amanda Clark is believed to hold the career record of 76, which she set from 2011-14.

Burgess did, however, end the year with 20 hit by pitches, which is in and of itself a significant achievement. That total is tied for the sixth-most absorbed by a player in Division III history in a single season.

New Paltz finishes out its 2015 campaign at 19-16 overall with the wins, marking a nine-win improvement from 2014. Brooklyn drops to 18-16 with the losses and hosts Baruch College in the first round of the City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) Tournament on Wednesday, April 29, at 4 p.m.

New Paltz 7, Brooklyn 1

Three of New Paltz's nine hits were of the extra-base variety in game one, and the Hawks relied on strong pitching from senior Erika Traina (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore) to cruise to a 7-1 victory.

Brooklyn opened scoring in the top of the first, as a run came across on a hard-hit infield groundout that bounced off Traina's foot and caromed to senior third baseman Meg Brewer (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point), who fired a throw to first base to record the out at first.

New Paltz evened the score in the home half of the inning, as Brewer plated Burgess with a single down the right-field line. The Hawks seized the advantage in the bottom of the third when junior left fielder Fallon Spriggs (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) scored sophomore shortstop Kiersten Carlomagno (Commack, N.Y./Commack) with an RBI single up the middle, and they added to the lead during the next at-bat when Burgess scored on a throwing error by the catcher.

The Hawks added insurance in the fifth with a four-run inning. Brewer drove in two runs with a double to left field, while senior center fielder Alex Verso (Commack, N.Y./Commack) plated Brewer with a sacrifice fly lineout to center field. The final run of the game came across during a rundown on a stolen base attempt at second.

Burgess batted 2-for-2 on the game with three runs scored, two hit by pitches and a triple, while Brewer hit 2-for-4 with three RBI, a double and a run scored. Freshman shortstop Samantha Colca (Fair Lawn, N.J./Fair Lawn) came off the bench to bat 2-for-2 with one run scored and a double. For Brooklyn, senior pitcher Kayla Hill led the way with a 2-for-4 performance.

Traina earned the win in the circle for the Hawks, yielding one unearned run off four hits and a walk while striking out four. Hill was saddled with the loss for Brooklyn.

New Paltz 5, Brooklyn 4

New Paltz climbed out of a 4-2 hole in the bottom of the seventh, and after the Hawks tied the score at 4-all, freshman right fielder/left fielder Danielle Bruno (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East) plated senior right fielder Juliette Verso (Commack, N.Y./Commack), the game-winning run, with a double to right field.

After Brooklyn retired the first batter it faced in the seventh, junior third baseman Nicole DeCosta (Stormville, N.Y./John Jay-East Fishkill) started the rally with a single to center field and was replaced on the base paths by freshman third baseman Alexa Mastando (Miller Place, N.Y./Rocky Point). Burgess then moved Mastando over to third with a single to center field before Juliette Verso scored Mastando with a slow-rolling ball down the third-base line. Junior pinch hitter Katie Rutcofsky (Plainview, N.Y./Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy), who has come up big for the Hawks in high-pressure spots numerous times this season, tied the game at 4-all with an RBI single through the right side that pushed across Burgess. That set the stage for Bruno's walk-off hit, which came off an 0-1 pitch.

New Paltz took an early lead in the second, with Bruno and freshman designated player Molly Peymann (Shirley, N.Y./William Floyd) each scoring in the inning. After a scoreless third, the Bulldogs reached the scoreboard in the fourth with one run, and they took a 4-2 edge with a three-run fifth.

Eight different Hawks had a hit in game two, with Bruno and Peymann each notching multiple base knocks. Hill (2-for-4), senior right fielder Kristina Bermudez (2-for-4, two runs scored, one RBI) and senior catcher Becky Ganely (2-for-3, one RBI, one double) paced the Brooklyn offense.

Traina earned her second win of the day in relief duty, scattering just two hits in 2 1/3 innings of work. Junior pitcher Ashley Tkacsik shouldered the loss for the Bulldogs in game two.