It's a new season and a new era for the 2025 edition of SUNY New Paltz softball.  
 
After a record setting 2024 which saw the Hawks post a 36-8 overall record and a 17-1 SUNYAC mark, capture their first SUNYAC Championship, and earn their first trip to the NCAA DIII national tournament, the question for the State University of New York New Paltz entering this season is can it replicate the success? The SUNYAC coaches who ranked the Hawks in the preseason poll first in the conference certainly think so.
 
"We 100 percent have the potential to repeat what we did last year. We won our first SUNYAC title last year which was a bit unexpected… but we've proved ourselves, which has put a bit of a target on our back that we're not really used to, but we're 100 percent ready for," said Hawks senior Sophia D'Arcangelis. "We're here every single day wanting to get better to have another successful spring and win another title."
 
The task to live up to that ranking will be the challenge the 2025 Hawks face. Graduation has taken six players from a year ago, many of whom represented the heart and soul of a program that evolved into one of the best in SUNYAC and the region.  And also, absent is head coach Krysti Maronski-Neufeldt, now the head coach at Randolph-Macon College, the winningest softball coach in program history at 127-62-1, with four SUNYAC tournament appearances, including two semifinals and one championship title, along with the team's lone NCAA DIII appearance.
 
Enter interim head coach Rick Spriggs. Spriggs is no stranger to SUNY New Paltz softball, having been Maronski-Neufeldt's lead assistant for the past three seasons. He was a part of two SUNYAC Coaching Staff of the Year honors in both 2023 and 2024. A veteran of Hudson Valley club softball, he has found success at every level of competition
 
 
Spriggs fields a team in 2025 that boasts 13 returning players from last season's championship team, including three All-SUNYAC players. Added to the mix are four outstanding first year players who have the capacity to make an immediate impact for the Hawks.
 
"Since I've been at school here our goal was to get to SUNYAC's and we accomplished that last year," said Hawks junior Kelsey O'Brien. "We lost a lot of component members, but in all those positions we have people ready to fill those spots and are 100 percent capable of doing so. So with that, the love we have, the talent we have, the work our coaches are putting in, I have a 100 percent confidence we can get to the same spot we were last year."
 
Pitching has been the hallmark of the Hawks success and two-time All-SUNYAC selection Sydney Waldon (Maplewood, NJ/Columbia HS) returns to the mound. The senior saw action in 29 games, starting 19 with a 17-2 record, with two saves. She posted a 2.01 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP with 10 complete games. She gave up 83 hits in 115 innings, allowing 33 earned runs and striking out a team high 118 batters. Also with experience is junior Alyssa Zangrilli (Carmel, NY/Carmel HS). Zangrilli saw action in nine games with a 1-0 record and three saves, a 2.04 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP in 24 innings pitched, giving up 21 hits and seven earned runs. She can also double playing in the infield when needed.
 
 
Looking to break into the action are two talented first year players, both of whom bring significant championship postseason experience with them. Leah Gunsett (Marlboro, NY/Marlboro HS) was a two-time All-NYS pitcher for the Dukes, was named Pitcher of the Year in Section One and struck out over 300 batters in her career. She can also play infield for the SUNY New Paltz. Joining her is Morgan Smith (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa HS). Smith pitched and played first base for the Plainsmen and her pitching and timely hitting powered Shen to consecutive Section 2 Class AA playoffs and the 2023 Class AA championship final. 
 
Experience highlights the other half of the Hawks' battery, with junior Emmie Mae Cabrera (Marlboro, NY/Marlboro HS) the incumbent behind the plate. She started 21 of 29 games, was third on the team with 155 catches, second in putouts with 145 and had nine assists, with a fielding average of .994. She had 61 at bats with eight hits and two RBI. Returning also is sophomore Halle Sacharoff (Albertson, NY/Herricks HS) who saw limited action behind the plate, playing in four games with one hit and one RBI for the season. Looking to make her presence known behind the plate and in the infield is first year Mallory Rohon (Southington, CT/Southington HS). Her credentials are impressive: All-State, two-time All-Central Connecticut Conference, three-year starter on a squad that won two state championships and went 92-10-1 in her career.  
"We're super excited to be back on the field," D'Arcangelis said. "Obviously, being a spring sport, we work all fall and all winter long and a month when we get back, and with it being a rough winter this year we haven't been able to be on our field yet, so any chance we get to be outside, we take full advantage of."
 
SUNY New Paltz's infield is highlighted by junior Lauren Serraro (Rock Tavern, NY/Valley Central HS) is the most experienced of them, starting all 44 games in 2024. She recorded 181 catches, 97 putouts, 82 assists, five double plays with a .980 fielding percentage, while batting .295 with 105 at bats, 32 hits, 21 runs scored and six RBIs. Serraro will need the guide the remaining infield players, those returning as well as the three first years with infield experience. 
 
Sophomores Maddie Anderson (Sayville, NY/Sayville HS) and Ella Sharrock (Selden, NY/Newfield HS) saw action in 21 and 15 games respectively, with Anderson starting three and Sharrock two. Anderson had a .909 fielding average with Sharrock fielding .889 in their limited field appearance. Anderson batted .313 in 16 at bats with five hits,12 runs scored and two RBI.  Sharrock batted .250 in 20 at bats with 214 hits and two RBI. The lone senior is Lauren Parete (Accord, NY/Rondout Valley HS) who started one game and played in four others. First years Gunsett, Morgan Smith, and Rohon can look for important playing time in 2025.
 
It's an experienced and explosive outfield that returns for SUNY New Paltz, led by senior Jackie Rometo (Walden, NY/Valley Central HS. The two-time All-SUNYAC and 2024 All-NFCA All-Northeast pick started 41 of 43 games a season ago, batted .317 with 44 hits, 25 runs scored, with 18 RBI in 139 at bats with a .728 OBS and was 11 for 11 stolen bases. In the field Rometo is one of the best in the conference. She had 89 catches, 83 put outs, four assists with two errors and .978 fielding percentage.
 
O'Brien (Monroe, NY/Monroe-Woodbury HS) joins Rometo in a veteran outfield, coming off a breakout season where she was named an All-SUNYAC pick. O'Brien started all 44 games and led the Hawks with a .396 batting average with a .926 OBS. She was first in at bats with 144, first in hits (57), second in runs scored (32) and RBI (25). The junior was also 12 for 13 in stolen bases. Defensively, O'Brien had 51 catches, 47 putouts, one assists, three errors and a .941 fielding percentage, manning left field for her team. Meanwhile, D'Arcangelis (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool HS) started 25 of 32 games, batted .266 with a.585 OBS in 64 at bats, with 15 runs, 17 hits and five RBI, while adding seven stolen bases in nine attempts. With 29 catches, 29 putouts, two assists and one error, she ended with a .966 fielding percentage playing out in right.   
"Preseason has gone really well. We've all been here, coming in every day wanting to get better every single day, day in and day out," D'Arcangelis said. "We've been doing all the extra work that we need to do."
 
Sophomores Kate Hope (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley HS), Michaela Bridgewood (Levittown, NY/Division Avenue HS), and Danielle Steinmann (Lindenhurst, NY/Lindenhurst HS) saw action in 31, 20 and four games, respectively, and with a year's championship experience should factor in the team's season success. Looking to make her mark is the lone first year, Lindsey Serraro (Rock Tavern, NY/Valley Central HS). Serraro was a member of the Vikings three-time Section IX Class AA playoff squads. 
 
"Our freshmen have done a very great job integrating into our team," O'Brien said. "Leah and Morgan are killing it on the mound and Lindsey and Mallory both behind the plate and in the field. Everyone has their own type of leadership role and we're all ready to do whatever it takes to get where we need to be."
 
The Hawks open their 40-game season on the road with doubleheaders against future NJAC opponents Rutgers-Camden and at Rowan University Friday and Saturday, respectively.  SUNY New Paltz will then head south to the warmth of Clermont, Florida for the PFX Spring Games, March 15-21. They will play 10 games against DIII squads representing the East Coast and Midwest.  
 
"It's been a very long winter, but we've been taking our time in the gym and getting lots of reps in," O'Brien said. "Our coaches are doing everything they can to make sure we're all prepared, and we're so excited to hit the field this weekend."
 
The 2025 home opener is slated for Saturday, March 29 with a doubleheader against Farmingdale State College, followed by a home doubleheader against Skidmore College.
 
The Hawks begin their defense of their SUNYAC title with three straight road doubleheaders, beginning Friday, April 4, against SUNY Oswego, SUNY Canton and SUNY Oneonta. Six consecutive home doubleheaders follow, beginning April 15, with SUNY New Paltz hosting Mt. St. Mary College, SUNY Plattsburgh, SUNY Potsdam, SUNY Morrisville and SUNY Cortland. The Hawks close out the regular and conference season on the road Friday and Saturday, May 2-3 at SUNY Fredonia and Buffalo State College. 
 
The SUNYAC Tournament runs from May 8-11. The SUNYAC champion will receive an automatic invitation to the NCAA DIII Tournament, which begins May 16.

Season Preview featuring Kelsey O'Brien & Sophia D'Arcangelis



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