The State University of New York at New Paltz softball team is set to a host a key SUNYAC matchup Saturday against Catskill Cup rival SUNY Oneonta. Both teams are tied for second, along with SUNY Cortland, in the conference standings with 12 points. The series will also serve as the team's Senior Day, as seniors Danielle Bruno, Lauren Cappello, Taylor Leonette, Alexa Mastando and Julia Perhacs will all be honored prior to the start of game one.

"All five of us are really excited for Senior Day," Perhacs said. "We've all worked so hard these past four years and it's really hard to believe that it has gone by this fast."

All five seniors have been a part of the team since their freshmen year and led the Hawks to back-to-back SUNYAC Tournament appearances in 2016 and 2017. Hawks head coach Samantha Miller explained that she will dearly miss all her seniors, but wants to make the most of the time she has left with them.

"Adjusting to a new coach is never easy, but I think these five seniors did a good job buying into the philosophy I brought," Miller said. "We've talked about their mark on SUNY New Paltz softball and they keep saying they want to make history. I couldn't have asked for any more from these athletes and it's been quite emotional talking about it with them. We just smile at each other and say one more month of everything you've got. I wish them all the best of luck in the next chapter of their lives, but it ain't over until it's over so until then we're going to make history and go out with a bang."

The last time the Hawks faced off against SUNY Oneonta was in last season's SUNYAC Tournament, as the Red Dragons ended SUNY New Paltz's season with a 14-5 victory. During the 2017 regular season, the two teams split their series in Oneonta, with the Red Dragons rallying for a 5-4 win in game one and the Hawks responding with a 9-5 victory in game two.

"When you see a team again that you lost to last year, there is always incentive, revenge-type of feelings that come up," Miller said. "Oneonta is an excellent team and we have always battled with them, but we are a completely different team from last year. We have so many new players that have contributed this year, so last year doesn't hit home for them. They just want to go out there and do their job."

Oneonta currently ranks second in the conference in runs scored with 155 and batting average with a .353 mark. The Red Dragons feature eight players who are hitting over .300, including junior catcher Selena Ruiz who is second in the SUNYAC with a scorching .538 batting average. Freshman second baseman Meaghan Raleigh, despite only having 27 at-bats, leads her team and is tied for fourth in the conference in home runs with three.

However, despite their success at the plate Oneonta has struggled in the circle this season. The Red Dragons are ninth in the SUNYAC with a 4.99 ERA, while SUNY New Paltz is fifth with a 3.83 mark.

Oneonta currently hold an 18-15 advantage in the Catskill Cup standings.

Following their series against the Red Dragons, the Hawks will face off against SUNY Geneseo on Monday, April 23 with game one scheduled for 12 p.m. The series will take place on Mary Gray Deane Field, but SUNY New Paltz will serve as the away team. This will be another crucial series for the Hawks, as the Knights are currently atop the conference standings with 14 points. Last season, Geneseo and SUNY New Paltz split their regular season series.

Unlike Oneonta, the Knights boast an incredibly strong pitching staff that holds a 1.99 ERA, the lowest in the conference. Its closest competitor, Cortland, boasts a 3.13 ERA.

Three of the four SUNYAC leaders in ERA are on Geneseo, as sophomore Ashlyn Kersch (0.89), junior Taylor Moore (2.02) and junior Jasmine Petrishin (2.24) are ranked first, third and fourth, respectively.

The Knights can score runs as well, as they are third in the conference in batting average with a .335 mark and fourth in runs scored with 132.

The Hawks swept their last series against The College at Brockport on April 18, winning the first game 5-2 before a thrilling 8-6 victory in 10 innings to secure the sweep.

"We feel pretty great coming off the sweep of Brockport," Hawks sophomore outfielder Julia DiSpigna said. "If we can beat Oneonta we'll be in a really good position heading into SUNYACs, so we want to continue the momentum we created against Brockport."

The score was tied 3-3 heading into the top of the 10th inning. SUNY New Paltz batted around and totaled five runs in the inning. Leonette broke the tie with a base hit to drive in two runs and DiSpigna later tripled to bring home two more. Cappello followed with an RBI double to drive in DiSpigna and give her team a comfortable 8-3 lead. However, Brockport would not go down without a fight in its half of the inning.

With one out, Golden Eagles senior first baseman Lindsay Wachna tripled to right center to bring in a pair and senior catcher Karleigh Eaton followed with an RBI single to make it an 8-6 game and bring the tying run to the plate in the form of sophomore third baseman Alison Missavage. Missavagge singled to put runners on first and second and bring freshman second baseman Kacie Hubbard, who is hitting .344 this season, to the plate as the potential game-winning run.

Cappello, who was working on her 17th inning of the day, settled down and got Hubbard and freshman outfielder Penny Lenard, who leads the Golden Eagles with a .542 batting average, to each groundout to second base to secure the victory.

Watch the Hawks take on both SUNY Oneonta and SUNY Geneseo live by following @newpaltzhawks on Facebook, and for updates, highlights, recaps and more, be sure to follow @newpaltzhawks on Instagram and @nphawks on Twitter.