Championship Page
Tournament Schedule
NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The fifth-seeded State University of New York at New Paltz softball team seeks out its first tournament win since 2008 as the Hawks prepare for the upcoming 2017 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Championships hosted by SUNY Cortland from Thursday-Saturday, May 4-6. The No. 5 Hawks will take on the No. 2 seed SUNY Oswego on Thursday, May 4 at 11 a.m.
New Paltz's last tournament win, ironically, came against Oswego on May 1, 2008 when the Hawks shut out the Lakers, 8-0.
If the Hawks win their contest against the Lakers, they will play the winner of the Buffalo State and SUNY Plattsburgh game on Friday, May 5 at 11 a.m. If the Hawks drop their game to Oswego, they will face off against the loser of the Cortland and SUNY Oneonta game later that Thursday at 3 p.m.
SCOUTING THE HAWKS (18-18, 10-8 SUNYAC): Led by first-year head coach
Samantha Miller, New Paltz concluded its regular season on Saturday, April 29 with a doubleheader split with Oneonta, dropping the first game, 5-4, to the host Red Dragons before taking the second game with a score of 9-5… Despite both teams finishing 10-8 in the conference, New Paltz secured the higher seed.
STATISTICAL LEADERS: Senior center fielder
Fallon Spriggs (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) leads the team with a .330 batting average while junior left fielder
Taylor Leonette (East Patchogue, N.Y./Bellport) ranks second with a .303 average, as the Hawks' main leadoff hitter… New Paltz also relies on the talents of senior catcher
Nicole DeCosta (Stormville, N.Y./John Jay-East Fishkill) who currently stands first on the team with a .443 slugging percentage, which is good enough to rank 10
th in the SUNYAC, and is tied for first with 15 RBI and 39 total bases… Junior pitcher
Lauren Cappello (New City, N.Y./Albertus Magnus) currently holds a 15-11 record in the circle, her 15 wins ranks fourth all-time in the program and tops the conference standings… Cappello also ranks first in the conference in complete games (19), innings pitched (174.2), is second in the SUNYAC with a 2.36 ERA and 99 strikeouts.
SCOUTING THE LAKERS (16-18, 11-7 SUNYAC): Oswego ended its regular season with a doubleheader sweep against The College at Brockport on Saturday, April 29, taking the opener with a score of 3-1, before winning the backend in five innings, 11-1, to clinch the No. 2 seed by way of a three-way tie breaker over Plattsburgh and Buffalo State.
STATISTICAL LEADERS: As the leadoff hitter, shortstop Erin Sweeney leads the teams, and is tied for sixth in the SUNYAC, with 27 runs while having accumulated 31 hits and fashioning a .405 on base percentage… right fielder Jessica Roe tops the Lakers with a .330 batting average and stands second with 30 hits… third baseman Ashley Lyman currently leads Oswego with 20 RBI, 47 total bases and five home runs, good enough for third in SUNYAC standings… The Lakers will look to starting pitcher Rebecca Vilchez who holds an 11-8 record in the circle with a 2.10 ERA, which ranks second among conference leaders, while recording 56 strikeouts and pitched 13 complete games… At the plate, Vilchez has amassed 20 RBI, seven doubles and four home runs.
LAST MEETING:
In the regular season meet up, Oswego hosted New Paltz on Saturday, April 22 where the Lakers swept the Hawks, taking game one with a score of 9-2 before winning the second game, 5-1.
