A Quick Look
The SUNY Oneonta softball team got another dominating pitching performance from senior Alyssa Bluethgen (Commack/Commack) and got some timely hitting in taking two more wins today against RIT and Nazareth.  The Red Dragons are currently 7-1 on its southern trip to raise its overall record to 8-4 with one day remaining in its season.
 
The Inside Story
In today's first game versus RIT, Bluethgen shutdown RIT leading the Red Dragons to a 7-1 victory.  Bluethgen threw zeros at the Tigers for the first five innings enroute to a complete game, four-hit victory running her record to 5-1.
 
As has been the norm on the trip, Oneonta struck early scoring a pair of runs in the top of the first inning.  Senior Brooke Corbett (Bethlehem/Bethlehem Central) got things started with an infield single with one out and then stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and then scored on a single by junior Caroline Koch (New City/Clarkstown South).  Koch scored the second run of the inning on back-to-back wild pitches after stealing second base.
 
Oneonta added a run in the fourth inning to push its lead to 3-0.  Senior Bailey Schwark (Port Ewen/Kingston) and junior Meaghan Raleigh (Endwell/Maine Endwell) reached on back-to-back infield singles.  They then stole the next base before Schwark came in on a ground out by junior Amanda Sexton (Port Jervis/Port Jervis).
 
Oneonta made RIT pay for a fielding error in the fifth when freshman Marissa Nagel (Averill Park/Averill Park) scored on a ground out by Koch.
 
After scoring another single run in the sixth, Oneonta added its final two runs in the seventh on an inside the park home run by senior Jade Meehan (Halcottsville/Roxbury Central) that knocked in Nagel ahead of her.
 
RIT scored its lone run in the bottom of the sixth inning.
 
Oneonta scored its first run against Nazareth in the top of the second putting runners at second and third with one out.  Freshman Anna Ciccarelli (Guilderland/Guilderland) singled to shortstop to drive in Schwark from third base.
 
Meehan tripled in the third and came home on a squeeze executed by Corbett to give the Red Dragons a 2-0 lead.  Nazareth cut its deficit in half with a single run in the bottom of the inning.
 
Oneonta began to pull away in the fifth scoring a pair of runs.  Junior Kristen Collins (Hicksville/Holy Trinity) scored the first run on a ground out by Meehan and Corbett scored the second run on an RBI single off the bat of Schwark.
 
The Red Dragons added three insurance runs in the seventh inning off RBI singles from Corbett, Koch and freshman Juliana D'Alessandro (Nanuet/Nanuet).
 
Junior Hunter VanArnum (Schuylerville/Schuylerville) pitched the first five innings and allowed the single run and five hits while recording a pair of strikeouts.  Sophomore Kathryn Davies (Tinton Falls, NJ/Monmouth Regional) threw two scoreless innings in relief.
 
Just the Stats
Meehan collected three hits versus RIT while Raleigh and Schwark each had a pair of hits.
 
Meehan, Corbett, Schwark and D'Alessandro all collected two hits in the game against Nazareth.
 
What's Next
Oneonta will complete its abbreviated season tomorrow when they play a pair of games against Brockport and Keene State.