For the second year in a row, Mary Gray Deane Field on the campus of the State University of New York at New Paltz will be the home site for the 2024 SUNYAC Softball Championship Tournament. The tournament will begin Thursday and run through Saturday, May 11, with a rain date set for May 12. The top seeded SUNY New Paltz Hawks will host SUNY Cortland (second seed), SUNY Geneseo (third), SUNY Oneonta (fourth), SUNY Fredonia (fifth) and Buffalo State University (sixth).

In the first round of tournament play Thursday Game 1 will see top seed SUNY New Paltz play sixth seed Buffalo State at 8:30 a.m.; Game 2 will match second seed Cortland against fifth seed Fredonia at 10:30 a.m.; Game 3 will have fourth seed Oneonta play third seed Geneseo at 12:30 p.m. with the losing teams of Game 1 and 2 playing Friday morning or weather dependent, the late game Thursday afternoon.

For the full tournament schedule, click here.

SUNY New Paltz enters the tournament as the top seed for the second consecutive year and the Hawks hope that a year's maturity will bring them to their first SUNYAC championship after falling short in last season's semifinal to eventual champion SUNY Geneseo. This will be the Hawks' 14th overall appearance in the SUNYAC tournament and their third consecutive trip to the playoffs.
SUNY New Paltz currently ranked third in the NCAA DIIII Region III poll and is receiving votes in the NFCA national top-25 poll. It enters the tournament at 31-5 overall for the regular season — its second 31-win season in a row, which also ties the most in program history set last year. The Hawks boast a 17-1 SUNYAC record, their lone blemish a 1-0 loss to Geneseo. In regular season competition against the five other tournament participants, SUNY New Paltz swept the season series against Cortland, Oneonta, Buffalo State and Fredonia, splitting the series with the Knights. SUNY New Paltz opens the tournament bright and early Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. against sixth seed Buffalo State, a team that surprised them with a 2-0 win in last season's tournament second round, dropping the Hawks into the loser's bracket.

The sixth seeded Bengals of Buffalo State University are making their second straight trip to the conference playoffs and their 28th overall appearance in the SUNYAC tournament. Buffalo State has won the conference championship four times, the last in 2000 and has made eight trips to the NCAA DIII softball tournament, the last time in 2009. This season, the Bengals have posted a15-18 overall record with an 8-10 SUNYAC mark. Against the five other tournament teams, they have lost both games of the regular season series to Geneseo, Cortland, New Paltz, Oneonta and Fredonia.

Second seed Cortland will face fifth seed Fredonia in Game 2 of Thursday's opening round at 10:30 a.m. The Red Dragons, winners of 16 SUNYAC titles, the last coming in 2019, clinched their 36th trip to the conference tournament.

Currently ranked sixth in the NCAA DIII Region III poll, Cortland has made a record 23 trips to the NCAA DIII Softball Tournament, the last in 2019. With a 25-7 overall record and a 15-3 SUNYAC tally, Cortland will use its lengthy experience to move forward in 2024. Against the five other tournament teams, the Red Dragons have won the two-game season series against Oneonta, Fredonia, and Buffalo State, split their series with Geneseo and lost the season series to New Paltz.

The Blue Devils of Fredonia are making their eighth trip to the SUNYAC Championships, their last trip in 2019. Fredonia enters play against Cortland with a 15-23 overall record and an 8-10 mark in SUNYAC play. In the season series against tournament opponents, the Blue Devils won their two-game series with Buffalo State and lost the season series against Geneseo, Cortland, Oneonta, and New Paltz.

Thursday's final match, at noon, pits third seed Geneseo against four seed Oneonta. The Knights, defending champions and winner of three consecutive SUNYAC softball titles, is making their 22nd appearance in the SUNYAC softball championship. The reigning champs have won five SUNYAC softball crowns and have appeared in the NCAA DIII tournament six times, the last in 2023. This looks to be Geneseo's last time in the SUNYAC Softball Championship Tournament as the Knights will be moving to the Empire 8 Athletic Conference beginning in the 2024-25 school year. This season, Geneseo is 21-17 overall on the season with a 14-4 SUNYAC mark. They have won their two-game series against Fredonia and Buffalo State and have split the season series with Cortland, New Paltz, and Oneonta.

The Red Dragons of Oneonta, the tournament's fourth seed, are no strangers to the SUNYAC Tournament, making their 25th appearance and ninth straight trip to the conference tournament. Oneonta has captured three SUNYAC softball titles, the last in 2004, and has made four trips to the NCAA DIII tournament, the last in 2014. This season, the Red Dragons have posted a 21-15 overall record and are 13-5 in SUNYAC competition. They have won two season series matchups against Fredonia and Buffalo State, split the season series with Geneseo and lost both ends of their season series against Cortland and New Paltz.

For more, visit the Hawks digital program here.


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