With one weekend left in the regular season, the State University of New York at New Paltz softball team is fighting for a spot in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) postseason, but will have to go through two teams in Buffalo State (17-15 overall, 6-8 SUNYAC) and Fredonia State (11-19, 6-8), which are also battling for its playoff lives.
 
"It's actually very important for us, especially coming off a split against Plattsburgh," said Hawks sophomore outfielder Celia Santini. "It's just really important that we stay within ourselves and really take it to these two teams this weekend, play like we know that we can and come off this weekend hopefully 4-0."
SUNY New Paltz (22-9, 9-5) need two wins to guarantee a spot in the postseason or lock down one victory and hope for a loss from two of three teams in Plattsburgh, the Bengals or Blue Devils over the weekend. 

The Hawks had an uneven opening week, playing three-straight strong outings in a sweep over SUNY Potsdam and a game-one win against Plattsburgh State. SUNY New Paltz's offense came alive against the Bears and Cardinals, recording 47 hits over the course of the four games, but was unable to come away with back-to-back SUNYAC sweeps for the first time this season.
 
The Hawks posted 11-3 and 7-1 wins over the Bears Monday, gaining their first conference sweep since March 3 against The College at Brockport. They then finished out their regular season home stand against Plattsburgh Tuesday, where they took the first game, 6-4, but dropped a tough game-two, 9-3.
 
An error in the sixth inning avalanched to a four-run deficit after inning's end and SUNY New Paltz never recovered. The Hawks are looking to put that loss behind them, move forward and take four on the road against the Bengals and Blue Devils, who are tied for sixth in the conference standings.
 
"I think coming back from Florida and having such a great record really was an advantage to us. We already came back with that target on our backs and we already know going into this weekend that pressure doesn't really affect us too much," Santini said. "We just know what we need to do and what we're going to come with. We know what we can do as a team and that's working in our corner."
 
Buffalo State recently played two road SUNYAC series against SUNY Cortland and Oswego State and got swept by both teams, scoring just three runs combined in the four games.
 
Freshman Sydney McIntosh leads the Bengals offensively, batting .363 with 16 runs, 37 hits and 19 RBIs. As a team, Buffalo State bats just less than .300 and averages about five runs per game. Freshman Oriana Castello is their best pitcher, posting a 9-7 record with a 2.65 ERA.
 
Fredonia State, meanwhile, stole a game from the Red Dragons during its doubleheader, but dropped both games against the Lakers Monday.
 
The Blue Devils average less than four runs per game, while conceding nearly five against. Freshman Karli Murray leads the team at the plate with a .333 batting average, to go along with 19 runs and 29 hits. Junior Sam Seeger has thrown the most innings for them, recording a 3.03 ERA with a 4-7 record, seven complete games and 52 strikeouts.
 
After going through a slight offensive slump, the Hawks' bats ignited in their most recent series against the Cardinals and Bears with sophomore outfielder Nina Simms leading the way. Simms was inserted into the lineup and delivered, posting a .516 batting average in 31 at-bats, while sitting second on the team in RBIs with 15, just behind Ashley Puig (19), who has batted .322 in 87 at-bats with 13 runs and 28 hits, including 10 extra base hits.
 
"I think our offense was a lot better against these two teams, Plattsburgh and Potsdam," Santini said. "I think that is important for us as a team to turn on pitches early in the count and really produce with people on base, just really trust in ourselves and trust in each other. Know that coach wants us out there and she's putting the trust in us to keep producing offensively like we know we can."
 
SUNY New Paltz will need to continue being aggressive at the plate in order to not only cement a spot in the postseason, but also make a run at the program's first conference title.
 
Due to pending rain in the forecast, the Hawks will play Buffalo State Sunday for a doubleheader starting at noon p.m., but first will face Fredonia State for a two-game series Saturday, also beginning at 12 p.m

To stay up to date with everything #NPHawks be sure to follow us on Twitter at @nphawks,Instagram and Facebook at @newpaltzhawks, and subscribe to our Youtube channel, New Paltz Hawks.