Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

ONEONTA, N.Y. – Junior pitcher Katie Rutcofsky (Plainview, N.Y./Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy) played the role of hero in game two of the State University of New York at New Paltz softball team's State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC)-opening doubleheader against SUNY Oneonta on Monday at Oneonta's Red Dragon Softball Field, driving in the game-winning runs while throwing a complete game in a 4-2 victory in eight innings. Oneonta won game one, 6-1.

Rutcofsky hurled 151 pitches in the game-two win over the defending SUNYAC champions, gritting through eight hits, four walks and two runs scored while striking out five. At the plate, she went 2-for-3 in the nightcap and drove in two runs with a one-out single to left field in the eighth to give the Hawks a 4-2 lead.

"Obviously, starting out conference play with a win against an opponent as strong as Oneonta is great thing for us," second-year head coach Brittany Robinson said. "We were looking to get at least one win today. In the first game, we gave up a lot of runs that one inning, but the girls knew that it was a one-inning type thing. During the second game, we started hitting the ball in the holes. We kept pushing and pushing, and finally, we turned the corner with what we're trying to do here. We kept errors and walks to a minimum and got the big hits when we needed them. I knew we were capable of doing it, but we put it all together in one game."

New Paltz moves to 8-7 overall (1-1 SUNYAC) and hosts non-conference Western Connecticut State University in its home-opening doubleheader on Wednesday, April 8, at 3 p.m., while Oneonta moves to 11-5 overall (1-1 SUNYAC) and visits the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute tomorrow at 3 p.m.

Oneonta 6, New Paltz 1

In game one, Oneonta scored all six of its runs in the third inning while relying on a strong performance in the circle from two different pitchers.

Freshman right fielder Julia Perhacs (Robbinsville, N.J./Robbinsville) kicked off scoring in the top of the first, blasting a solo home run to left field to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead.

Oneonta broke the game open in the third, however, scoring six runs with two outs. Neither team was able to add to the score after that surge, and the Red Dragons emerged victorious by a 6-1 final in game one.

Perhacs keyed the Hawk attack by going 2-for-3 with one run scored, one RBI and a home run, while sophomore shortstop Marlene Cuevas and junior designated player Traci Lichtenstein each batted 2-for-3 with one run scored and one RBI for Oneonta.

Sophomore pitcher Taylor Corwin (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) was tagged with the loss in three innings of work, but senior pitcher Erika Traina (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore) surrendered just one hit in three frames of relief duty while striking out one. Sophomore pitcher Sabrina DeAngelis earned the win for Oneonta, yielding one run off two hits and a walk while striking out two in five innings of action. Sophomore pitcher Jennifer Brocco allowed just two hits in two scoreless innings of relief.

New Paltz 4, Oneonta 2 (8 inn.)

Rutcofsky stole the show in the nightcap, using a performance for the ages in the circle and clutch hitting to help the Hawks knock off the defending conference champions.

With one out in the top of the eighth, senior third baseman Meg Brewer (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point) singled to left center before freshman Samantha Colca (Fair Lawn, N.J./Fair Lawn) came in for Brewer as a pinch runner. Junior left fielder Fallon Spriggs (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) moved Colca over with a single through the left side, and junior designated player Nicole DeCosta (Stormville, N.Y./John Jay-East Fishkill) loaded the bases with a single to right center. That set the stage for Rutcofsky, who roped a 2-2 pitch to left field to drive in Colca and Spriggs and stake the Hawks to a 4-2 lead.

Running on fumes, Rutcofsky headed back out to throw the eighth. After a four-pitch walk to lead off the inning, she rebounded by forcing the next batter into a fielder's choice on the first pitch. Oneonta started to make things interesting after sophomore left fielder Shelby Cleaveland singled to third base to put runners on first and second, and a ground out to shortstop put both runners in scoring position with two outs. The Red Dragons then turned to a pinch hitter, who Rutcofsky forced into a pop-up to senior catcher Shayna Burgess (Smithtown, N.Y./Commack) to end the game.

Freshman first baseman Lauren Cappello (New City, N.Y./Albertus Magnus) put New Paltz on the board in the first with a solo home run to left, but Oneonta responded with a run in the home half of the inning with an RBI single up the middle by Cuevas. Spriggs launched a solo homer over the right-field fence in the fourth, but as was the case in the first, Oneonta bounced back in the bottom of the inning, driving in a run off a sacrifice fly to knot the score at 2-all.

In addition to Rutcofsky, Spriggs finished with a gaudy statistical line at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored, an RBI and a home run. Cappello (2-for-4, one RBI, one run scored, one home run) and DeCosta (2-for-3) also had multi-hit games for New Paltz.

For Oneonta, senior catcher Brianna Rivera (2-for-3, one double), Lichtenstein (2-for-3) and Cleaveland (2-for-3) led the way offensively.

Rutcofsky earned the win in the circle to move to 4-2 on the season, while Oneonta used three different pitchers in the losing effort. The loss was charged to DeAngelis, the game-one winner, who yielded two runs off four hits while striking out two in 1 2/3 innings of relief.