Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Cape Coral, FL – The SUNY Oneonta softball team traveled to sunny Florida to take part in the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic played in Cape Coral and came away with two victories in its opening games today, including a no-hit performance in game one.
 
In the first game of the afternoon, the Red Dragons defeated the Blue Angels of Mount Mary University 20-0 in five innings. Oneonta opened the scoring early as they plated four runs in the first and continued the trend with five in the second, four more in the fourth and seven in the fifth.
 
Sophomore Jamie Whittam (Saugerties/Saugerties) started the game off with a double down the right field line. After a fielding error and walk, junior Brianna Rivera (Pomona/North Rockland) doubled to right center to bring home the first two runs of the game. Rivera would advance to third on a wild pitch in which Traci Lichtenstein (Plainview/JFK) tried to score, but was caught stealing. Nicole Marzillo (Bay Shore/Bay Shore) reached on an error, scoring Rivera and later scored after Jennifer Brocco (Kingston/Kingston) hit her first of three doubles.
 
Kelly Graham (Staten Island/Moore Catholic) grounded out to the second baseman in the second inning, scoring Meaghan Foster (Walden/Valley Central), who reached on an error. Lichtenstein doubled to left center bringing home Whittam who had singled to get on base. Brocco then laced her second double to right center, bringing home two more runs to give the Red Dragons a 9-0 lead after 2 innings.
 
Juniors Nichole Paolino (Catskill/Catskill) and Rachel Hitt (Boonville/Adirondack Central) and Brocco would all pick up doubles in the fourth inning and sophomore Brianna Calby (South Huntington/Walt Whitman) had a single as the Red Dragons took a 13-0 lead.
 
Oneonta scored seven runs on three hits and four errors by the Blue Angels in the final inning. Katie O'Gorman (Clifton Park/Shenendehowa), Hitt and Calby each had a hit.
 
Freshman Sabrina DeAngelis (East Meadow/Kellenberg Memorial) and junior Katie O'Flynn (Pearl River/Pearl River) combined to no-hit Mount Mary. DeAngelis earned the win, pitching two innings and striking out five while O'Flynn finished off the last three and struck out four batters.
 
Brocco went 3-for-3, all doubles, and had five runs batted in. Lichtenstein and Rivera each had three runs batted in while Whittam, Calby and Hitt each collected two hits.
 
The second game of the afternoon pitted Oneonta against Rockford University from Illinois. The Red Dragons defeated the Regents 10-0 in five innings, scoring three, two, one and four runs consecutively.
 
With two outs in the first, Lichtenstein singled up the middle and scored on a Rivera triple to right field. Marzillo would follow it up with a single through the left side scoring Rivera and would score herself on an O'Gorman single to right field.
 
The defense would step it up a notch in the third and fourth innings as the Regents would load the bases in each, but were held scoreless.
 
Rockford loaded the bases in the third on a walk, error and single with just one out. Oneonta's starting pitcher, Hitt, closed out the inning by getting the next batter to pop up to shortstop, Marlene Cuevas (Wappingers Falls/Roy C. Ketcham), and the final batter to ground the ball back to her for the easy toss to first.
 
With the fourth starting similar to the third, the Regents loaded the bases with one out on two of their seven hits and a walk. Again, Cuevas had a hand in the next two outs as she caught a foul pop fly for out number two and assisted on the third out by fielding a grounder and throwing the ball to teammate Whittam for the third
 
Four hits and two errors allowed the Red Dragons to score four in the bottom of the fourth to close out the game. Lichtenstein, Marzillo and Graham each had singles and Rivera doubled.
 
Hitt earned her second win of the season, allowing five hits and striking out four in the process.
 
Lichtenstein went a perfect 3-for-3 and Whittam, Rivera, Marzillo, O'Gorman and Cuevas each had two hits in the game. Rivera also added two runs batted in.
 
Oneonta is back at it again tomorrow, March 14, as they take on Curry College at 1 p.m. and Nichols College at 3 p.m.