Salisbury, MD — The State University of New York at New Paltz concluded day two of the Margie Knight Tournament with a split Sunday, earning a 6-5 win over NYU before falling in a close game against hosting Salisbury, 3-1.
 
Sydney Waldon earned the start and the win for the Hawks (7-3 overall) against NYU, as she tossed five innings, gave up just three earned runs and one walk with six strikeouts. SUNY New Paltz gave her run support early in the bottom of the first inning. Jackie Rometo led off with a walk and was moved over with a sacrifice bunt by Jaycee Filancia. Kelsey O'Brien followed up with a base hit before Jillian Shelbourne ripped a two RBI double to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead.
 
O'Brien added one more for SUNY New Paltz, hitting an RBI double to plate Filancia who got on with a two-out double. The Hawks then capped their scoring in the third. Michaela Bridgwood crossed on a throwing error before Rhionna Bianchini platted Sophia D'Arcangelis on a bunt single. Rometo ripped an RBI double two batters later to score Bianchini and bring the lead to 6-0.
 
The Violets rallied though with a three-run fifth and got within one with two more in the sixth. Holding a three-run lead in the sixth, Lindsay Roman came in to pitch for Waldon and after giving up a lead-off home run, earned two outs on a pop out and a foul out. NYU kept the inning alive with back-to-back singles. It scored another on a single to left, but SUNY New Paltz ended the inning tagging the runner at third to hold onto the one-run lead.
 
Roman closed out the final inning. She got a strikeout to start, then a pop out and after allowing two runners on, ended the game with a pop up.  
Rometo finished 2-for-3 with a run, an RBI and a walk. O'Brien's hot bat continued, going 3-for-4 with one run and an RBI. D'Arcangelis went 2-for-3 with a run.
 
The Hawks then took on the No. 2 nationally ranked Sea Gulls and battled on their home field. Roman earned the start and pitched well, giving up eight hits, three earned runs with no walks and two strikeouts in six innings.
 
The game was scoreless through three and a half innings before Sailsbury got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. The Sea Gulls led off with a single and soon had runners on second and third after a hit-by-pitch and a sacrifice bunt. Another bunt plated the go-ahead run before a two-RBI base hit brought two more across. Roman left two runners stranded to end the inning, earning a fielder's choice and a pop out to end the frame.
 
SUNY New Paltz's offense was stagnant until the seventh when O'Brien led off the inning with a single. Shelbourne grounded out in the next at-bat but moved O'Brien over into scoring position before advancing to third on a wild pitch two batters later. Isabella Shepherd helped O'Brien home on a tough grounder to short that was muffed, allowing the Monroe, NY native to score. The offense stalled there though, as D'Arcangelis grounded out to end the game.
 
The Hawks had three hits in the game coming from O'Brien, D'Arcangelis and Bianchini with O'Brien registering the only run with neither team registering a walk.
 
SUNY New Paltz is back in action Saturday and Sunday, going on the road to play doubleheaders against Rutgers-Camden and Widener, respectively.


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