A Quick Look
The SUNY Oneonta softball team ended the regular season today by splitting their doubleheader at Fredonia.  After dropping the first game, 6-5, the junior Julia Calabro (Wantagh/St. John the Baptist) threw a complete game, three-hit shutout at the Blue Devils, as the Red Dragons bounced back with an 8-0 win.
 
The Inside Story
In the second game, Oneonta bunched four runs in the third and seventh innings for its margin of victory.  Oneonta loaded the bases, aided by an error, before stringing together three straight singles to account for the four runs, all unearned.
 
Oneonta recorded six hits in the seventh and took advantage of another Fredonia error to plat its four runs.  Junior Jade Meehan (Halcottsville/Roxbury Central) and senior Lauren Sabatino (Bayville/Locust Valley) both singled to start the inning.  Meehan was erased trying to go to third on the Sabatino single for the first out of the inning.  Back-to-back singles by freshmen Madison Capozucca (South Glens Falls/South Glens Falls) and Megan Palmatier (Bainbridge/Bainbridge-Guilford) brought in pinch runner Meaghan Raliegh with the first run.  Capozucca scored on an error by the left fielder and Palmatier came into score on an infield single by junior Brooke Corbett (Bethlehem/Bethlehem Central).  After loading the bases, sophomore Caroline Koch (New City/Clarkstown South) scored on a fielder's choice.
 
Calabro needed only 78 pitches and faced three batters over the minimum to record her third win of the season.
 
In game 1, Oneonta started the scoring in the top of the second inning on a two-run single to center field off the bat of sophomore Amanda Sexton (Port Jervis/Port Jervis) that brought home Corbett and Capozucca.  Capozucca led off the inning with a walk and went to third when Corbett doubled.
 
Corbett scored her second run of the game when she double once again before being sacrificed to third by Sexton and then scoring on an RBI single by senior Dana Del Genio (New Hartford/New Hartford).
 
Fredonia came back in the bottom of the fourth with a pair of runs.  Cassie Herman drove in the first run with an RBI single to right field and Alyssa Pienewski had an RBI when she grounded out to second base.
 
A single run in the sixth and another in the seventh gave Oneonta a 5-2 lead heading to the bottom of the seventh.  The Red Dragons made the Blue Devils pay for an error in the sixth that allowed Del Genio reach.  She proceeded to steal both second and third before scoring on a fielder's choice by Sabatino.  Corbett hit another double to drive in Oneonta's run in the seventh that knocked in pinch-runner Raliegh.
 
After recording the first out of the seventh, Fredonia rallied to score four runs including a walk-off single by Rhianna Paoletti with the bases loaded.
 
Just the Stats
Oneonta pounded out 23 hits today including five each by Capozucca and Corbett.  All three of Corbett's hits in game 1 were doubles.  Also, in game 1, Del Genio eclipsed the season total base mark of 89 set two years ago by Katie O'Gorman.  Del Genio currently has 91 total bases and is slugging .689.
 
What's next
Oneonta has qualified for the SUNYAC tournament, which begins this Thursday at the highest seed.  There are still two doubleheaders that need to be played tomorrow that have implications for the host site and where the Red Dragons will finish in the standings.  Please check www.oneontaathletics to see whom and when Oneonta will play next.