Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

LIVERPOOL, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz softball team swept SUNY Potsdam in a pair of extra-inning State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) games on Wednesday at the Hopkins Road Softball Complex, winning game one, 8-2, in eight innings before taking game two, 6-4, in 11 innings.
 
With a home run in each game of the twinbill, junior center fielder Fallon Spriggs (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) broke the program's all-time record in the statistical category, pushing her career total to 13. Gina Marotta set the former record of 12 from 1995-98.

New Paltz rises to 17-14 overall (8-6 SUNYAC) with the wins and next hosts SUNY Oswego in a SUNYAC doubleheader on Friday, April 29, at 3 p.m. Potsdam drops to 10-23 overall (3-13 SUNYAC) and next visits Johnson State College tomorrow for a 3 p.m. non-conference doubleheader.

Game 1: New Paltz 8, Potsdam 2 (8 inn.)
 
New Paltz relied on a six-run eighth inning in game one to pull away with an 8-2 victory.
 
After Potsdam tied the score in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings, senior catcher Jordan Fiore (Mount Sinai, N.Y./Mount Sinai) and sophomore left fielder Julia Perhacs (Robbinsville, N.J./Robbinsville) led off the eighth with back-to-back singles. Potsdam recorded two outs before senior pitcher Katie Rutcofsky (Plainview, N.Y./Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy) drew a walk to load the bases. Junior designated player Nicole DeCosta (Stormville, N.Y./John Jay-East Fishkill) then ripped a three-run, bases-clearing double before sophomore first baseman Lauren Cappello (New City, N.Y./Albertus Magnus), who pinch ran for DeCosta, came home on an error. That set the stage for Spriggs, who hit a two-run home run to give the Hawks an 8-2 lead.
 
New Paltz kept Potsdam off the board in the home half of the inning to come away with the win.
 
After four scoreless innings, Rutcofsky put the Hawks on the board with a two-run home run in the top of the fifth. Potsdam countered with an RBI single by sophomore catcher Lauren Brace in the bottom of the sixth before forcing extra innings with an RBI single by senior first baseman Katie Marsman in the bottom of the seventh.
 
Sophomore right fielder Danielle Bruno (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow Hills East) paced the Hawk attack in game one by going 4-for-5 with an RBI, a double and a run scored. Rutcofsky also enjoyed a strong offensive outing, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored, two RBI, a home run and a walk. Potsdam had three batters notch multiple hits in the contest.
 
Rutcofsky earned the win in the circle, allowing two runs off nine hits and three walks while striking out five. Three Bears pitched in the loss.
 
Game 2: New Paltz 6, Potsdam 4 (11 inn.)
 
New Paltz once again prevailed in extra innings, scoring three runs in the top of the 11th off a three-run home run by Spriggs to complete the doubleheader sweep.
 
With DeCosta placed on second due to the international tiebreaker rule and Bruno reaching base due to a fielder's choice to lead off the 11th, Spriggs stepped up to the plate and hit her second home run of the day. Senior second baseman Alexis Lerman pulled the Bears within two in the home half of the inning with an RBI single, but New Paltz kept Potsdam off the board the rest of the inning to come away with the win.
 
Perhacs homered in the first at-bat of the game, but Potsdam retaliated in the bottom of the first with a sacrifice fly by sophomore left fielder Sami Hubinsky. Cappello gave New Paltz a 2-1 lead in the top of the second with an RBI groundout, but Potsdam answered in the bottom of the inning once again with an RBI groundout of its own.
 
Freshman pinch hitter Shannon Fee (Port Jefferson, N.Y./Earl L. Vandermeulen) drove in Cappello with a single to right field in the top of the fifth before junior shortstop Jordan Ott scored on a double steal in the home half of the frame to level the score once again. The two sides went scoreless in the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th innings before both teams' bats awoke in the 11th.
 
Sophomore third baseman Alexa Mastando (Miller Place, N.Y./Rocky Point) and Cappello each finished with two hits for the Hawks, while Brace batted 3-for-5 to lead the Bears.
 
Rutcofsky earned the win in the circle yet again, throwing five innings of relief. She gave up one unearned run off two hits and two walks while striking out seven. Sophomore pitcher Alissa McCauley shouldered the loss for Potsdam, hurling 6 2/3 innings while yielding three runs (two earned) off four hits and one walk while striking out four.