Camden, NJ — The State University of New York at New Paltz opened up 2023 with two impressive wins on the road over hosting Rutgers-Camden Thursday.
 
The Hawks earned a doubleheader victory, securing a 6-1 win in game one and then rolling to another win in game two, 16-0 in five innings played.
 
SUNY New Paltz had excellent pitching throughout the afternoon. Lindsay Roman started the first matchup and tossed four innings, giving up just three hits and one earned run with three strikeouts and two walks with an ERA of 1.75. Sydney Waldon sealed the win with a three-inning save as she faced 12 batters and yielded just three hits to close out the victory.
 
Juliet Bernstein got the offense going as she smacked a grand slam in the first to give her team a quick 4-0 lead. After The Raptors added one in the bottom of the third, the Hawks scored insurance runs in the fourth and fifth to seal the win. Lauren Serrao began the fourth with a bunt single to lead off the inning, then stole second to put herself in scoring position. Jackie Rometo then got on following a walk and was later brought home on an RBI single by Kelly Marmorowski.
 
In the fifth, Isabella Shepherd hit a one-out single to right to begin the inning. A pair of throwing errors advanced her over and ultimately allowed her to cross home for an unearned run that pushed the score to 6-1. Rhionna Bianchini earned a walk on the next at-bat, but Rutgers-Campden got out of the inning with a double-play ground out.  
Waldon allowed a runner in the sixth, but closed out with a strikeout, groundout and a flyout to keep the Raptors at a lone run, then finished with a 1-2-3 inning for her first save of the year.
 
Rometo went 2-for-3 with two runs and a walk. Shepherd also had a multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with a run scored. Kelsey O'Brien had a hit, a run scored and a stolen base, while Marmorowski finished 1-for-2 with a run, RBI and a walk.
 
The first inning went scoreless in game two between the Hawks and Raptors, but SUNY New Paltz started piling on in the top of the second. O'Brien led off with a single through the left field side and advanced into scoring position on a groundout before getting brought home on an RBI single by Marmorowski. Rometo earned a bases loaded RBI walk three batters later and Jaycee Filancia brought the lead to 3-0 after knocking an RBI base hit in the following at-bat.
 
The Hawks broke the game open in the third with O'Brien leading off once again, this time doubling to left. Sydney Bonewit hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded that brought home O'Brien and after the bases were loaded once again, Shepherd and Rometo knocked back-to-back RBI singles to push the lead to 6-0. Emmie Mae Cabrera capped the inning, ripping a two RBI single to left center as SUNY New Paltz ended the inning with an 8-0 cushion. SUNY New Paltz tacked on three more runs in the fourth and five in the fifth to build a comfortable 16-0 cushion.
 
The offense was backed by a standout performance by senior captain Jillian Harrison on the mound. The New Paltz, NY native opened up her season with a one-hit gem, pitching through four innings of work with no walks and three strikeouts. Erin Barno secured three outs in the fifth to solidify the shutout.

Harrison also led the way offensively, as she finished 3-for-3 with three runs and three RBI with a walk. O'Brien also had a three-hit game, going 3-for-4 with three runs including an extra base hit. Rometo went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a walk, Cabrera also hit 2-for-4 with four RBI and Bernstein went 2-for-2 with two runs.
 
SUNY New Paltz next game comes at the PFX Spring Games in Orlando, Florida beginning March 10 against Nebraska Wesleyan and Concordia University Chicago.

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