Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The State University of New York at New Paltz softball team closed out its southern trip on Sunday evening with a doubleheader sweep of host Salem College at Blixt Field, winning game one, 5-4, in eight innings before taking game two, 7-2.
 
New Paltz rises to 5-5 overall with the wins and returns to action on Tuesday, March 29, when it hosts the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at 3 p.m. in its 2016 home-opening doubleheader. Salem drops to 12-10 with the losses and next hosts North Carolina Wesleyan College in a 2 p.m. doubleheader on Tuesday, March 22.
 
Game 1: New Paltz 5, Salem 4 (8 inn.)
 
Tied at 2-all through seven innings, the two teams combined for five runs in the eighth, with New Paltz inducing a pop-up in the home half of the frame to end the game with the potential winning run on first base.
 
Using the international tiebreaker rule, the Hawks started the top of the eighth with senior catcher Jordan Fiore (Mount Sinai, N.Y./Mount Sinai) on second base. A groundout advanced Fiore to third before junior center fielder Fallon Spriggs (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) drove her in with an RBI single. Freshman shortstop Taylor LaFrance (New Windsor, N.Y./Newburgh Free Academy) singled to put runners on first and second, while both runners moved up a base following a passed ball. Sophomore left fielder Julia Perhacs (Robbinsville, N.Y./Robbinsville) then singled to drive in both Spriggs and LaFrance to open up a 5-2 lead.
 
Sophomore right fielder Montana Lineberger was placed on second base to begin the home half of the frame, and sophomore center fielder Maggie Fritts doubled to plate Lineberger for the Spirits' first run of the inning. A groundout moved Fritts to third before sophomore first baseman Briana Crumley singled to push her across. Crumley was then thrown out at second before sophomore shortstop Britani Peterson singled and freshman second baseman Logan Bowling drew a hit by pitch to put runners at first and second with two outs. Senior pitcher Katie Rutcofsky (Plainview, N.Y./Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy) then induced a pop up to third base, which ended the game.
 
Salem put the first run on the scoreboard in the third inning, as Fritts singled to bring in sophomore catcher Jennifer Vitarelli. Sophomore right fielder Danielle Bruno (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East) blasted a solo home run in the top of the fifth to tie the game before Salem claimed a 2-1 advantage with Vitarelli's solo shot in the home half of the inning. Spriggs ended up scoring on a passed ball in the top of the sixth to tie the game at 2-all.
 
LaFrance keyed the Hawk attack by going 3-for-4 with one run scored, while Spriggs batted 2-for-4 with two runs scored, an RBI and a double. Fritts led Salem with a 3-for-4 outing at the plate that included two RBI, two doubles and one run scored.
 
Rutcofsky earned the win in the circle for New Paltz, yielding four runs (three earned) off eight hits, two hit by pitches and two walks while striking out four. Sophomore pitcher Brianna Morris shouldered the loss for Salem, permitting five runs (three earned) off seven hits and one walk while striking out five.
 
Game 2: New Paltz 7, Salem 2
 
A five-run fifth by New Paltz wound up being the difference in the nightcap, as the Hawks made the most of their eight hits in the victory.
 
Spriggs homered in the fourth to open scoring, but senior designated player Kierston Garner hit a solo home run in the home half of the fourth to tie the score at 1-all.
 
Sophomore first baseman Lauren Cappello (New City, N.Y./Albertus Magnus) kick started the Hawks' five-run rally in the fifth with an RBI single, and after a single by sophomore third baseman Alexa Mastando (Miller Place, N.Y./Rocky Point) and a walk by Spriggs loaded the bases, LaFrance ripped a bases-clearing triple to hand the Hawks a 5-1 cushion. LaFrance wound up coming around on a passed ball to push the lead to five runs.
 
Garner hit her second home run of the game—another solo shot—in the sixth to draw the Spirits within four, but Spriggs answered back in the top half of the seventh with yet another solo home run, as New Paltz ended up winning the game, 7-2.
 
Spriggs once again enjoyed a productive performance at the plate, going 2-for-3 with three runs scored, two RBI and two home runs. It marks just the fifth time in program history that a Hawk has hit multiple home runs in a game, and it is the second time Spriggs has achieved the feat. Lineberger led Salem offensively, going 3-for-4, while Garner hit 2-for-3 with two runs scored, two RBI and two home runs.
 
Junior pitcher Taylor Corwin (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) earned the victory for the Hawks, allowing two runs off seven hits and five walks while striking out one. Freshman pitcher Hannah Nolan suffered the loss for the Spirits, giving up five runs off six hits and a walk in 4 1/3 frames of work.