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Box Score 2
NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – Senior pitcher
Katie Rutcofsky (Plainview, N.Y./Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy) struck out 15 batters across two games, lifting the State University of New York at New Paltz softball team to a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) doubleheader sweep over SUNY Fredonia on Friday afternoon at Mary Gray Deane Field by scores of 2-0 and 6-2.
Rutcofsky yielded just one earned run across the two games and moved to 8-3 overall on the year, throwing a complete game in both contests.
New Paltz rises to 11-8 overall (3-1 SUNYAC) with the wins and next hosts Buffalo State tomorrow for a 12 p.m. doubleheader. Fredonia drops to 6-12 overall (2-4 SUNYAC) and next visits SUNY Oneonta tomorrow for a 12 p.m. twinbill.
Game 1: New Paltz 2, Fredonia 0
The first tilt of the afternoon proved to be a low-scoring affair, with the two teams combining for seven hits in a game that lasted just 1:25.
New Paltz did all of its scoring in the second inning, as sophomore right fielder
Danielle Bruno (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East) laced a two-out single down the third-base line that bounced into the third base bag and trickled into the outfield, allowing Rutcofsky to score. Bruno reached third following a passed ball and a throwing error, and an error during the next at-bat allowed her to score to push the margin to 2-0.
In the top of the seventh, Fredonia drew a walk and produced a single with one out, and following a groundout that moved runners over to second and third, Rutcofsky induced a fly out to center field to end the game.
Rutcofsky went 2-for-3 at the plate with a run scored to pace the Hawk attack, while junior catcher Sarah Cuillo batted 2-for-2 for Fredonia.
Rutcofsky earned the win, scattering three hits and striking out six, while her counterpart, freshman pitcher Emily Shellenberger, allowed two runs (one earned) off four hits and two hit by pitches while striking out one in the loss.
Game 2: New Paltz 6, Fredonia 2
New Paltz completed the sweep due largely once again to the efforts of Rutcofsky, whose virtuoso nine-strikeout performance was aided by the Hawks' six runs off nine hits.
The Blue Devils got on the board first in the top of the first, as junior designated player Khee Nance came around to score on an RBI single by senior second baseman Lindsey Forness to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. New Paltz bounced back with a three-run second, though, as freshman second baseman
Shannon Fee (Port Jefferson, N.Y./Earl L. Vandermeulen) drove in Rutcofsky before senior catcher
Jordan Fiore (Mount Sinai, N.Y./Mount Sinai) and freshman shortstop
Taylor LaFrance (New Windsor, N.Y./Newburgh Free Academy) registered an RBI single and an RBI walk, respectively.
The Hawks added to their lead in the third, as Rutcofsky scored on a wild pitch and Bruno plated junior designated player
Nicole DeCosta (Stormville, N.Y./John Jay-East Fishkill) with a single to left center to give New Paltz a 5-1 advantage. Rutcofsky added insurance to her cause in the fourth with a two-out double to right center, and while the Blue Devils got a run back in the top of the seventh, Rutcofsky induced a groundout to end the game.
Bruno led the New Paltz offense with a 3-for-3 performance that included one run scored and an RBI, while Nance hit 3-for-4 with a run scored and a double to lead Fredonia.
Fredonia used two pitchers in the loss, though freshman Erika Whitney threw well in relief, yielding just one run off four hits, a walk and a strikeout.
