NEW PALTZ, N.Y. -- The SUNY Oneonta softball team defeated Geneseo, 5-1, on day one of the double elimination SUNYAC Tournament, Thursday afternoon. The 1-2-3 hitters for the Red Dragons, seniors Delaney Haley (Levittown, N.Y./Division Avenue), Adriana Fiori (Newtown, CT/Brookfield) and junior Julia Serena (White Plains, N.Y./Valhalla) each finished with a hit and an RBI, and freshman Emily Brown (Westbury, N.Y./Clarke) went 5.2 innings and struck out four batters in the win. Serena recorded her 114th-career RBI during the team's three-run fifth inning, tying Katie O'Gorman's '17 program record for most career RBI. Oneonta faces Cortland tomorrow at 11 a.m. then both teams will play either New Paltz or Buffalo State, depending on the result between the Red Dragon teams, while Geneseo and Fredonia were eliminated on day one.

The Red Dragons (22-15) got out of a couple jams in the bottom of the second inning to keep the game scoreless. The Knights (21-18) had their first two batters reach first and second before Audrey Minton hit a fly ball to centerfield where Fiori made the catch then lasered the ball to second to throw out the second baserunner for a double play. Geneseo managed to get runners on second and third shortly after, but Brown struck out Lauren Gulick to end the inning.

Brown led off the top of the third with a pop up directly over the shortstop, who couldn't make the tough catch, for a single. After she advanced on a wild pitch, freshman Maya Nelsen (South Salem, N.Y./John Jay Cross River) pinch ran for Brown and scored the first run of the game on Haley's hit that went through the left side while Haley reached third as the center fielder misplayed the ball. In the bottom half of the inning, Geneseo got runners on second and third again with two outs, but Brown forced a ground ball to freshman Ella Stewart (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) at second to hold onto the 1-0 lead.

Oneonta extended their lead to five with a run in the fourth inning and three more in the fifth. Serena led off the fourth with a walk and had senior Sarah Paige (Fort Ann, N.Y./Fort Ann Central) pinch run for her. After advancing to third off a fielder's choice then a sacrifice bunt, Paige crossed home on senior Victoria Hussey's (Nesconset, N.Y./Smithtown East) sacrifice fly to right field.

Freshman Ava Thys (Fairfax, Va./James W. Robinson Secondary (Va.)) led the top of the fifth off with a single past the pitcher into center field, she made it to third when Haley laid down a bunt and the first baseman overthrew the throw to first. Fiori followed Haley with a bunt of her own that stopped just in front of home plate allowing Thys to score, Haley to advance to third, and Fiori to second as the third baseman was unable to make a play. Serena kept the rally going and tied the program career RBI record with a single that went off the pitcher's glove into center field allowing Haley to score. Junior Sophia Mangone (Ardsley, N.Y./Ardsley) brought in Fiori for the final run of the inning with a ground out that initially bounced away from the pitcher.

Geneseo had a short two-out rally in the bottom of the sixth that set up Tara Brochu to hit an RBI double to center field for the team's lone run. The Knights still had two runners in scoring position, however junior Cadence Brennan (Niskayuna, N.Y./Niskayuna) came in and squashed the scoring threat with a ground out to short for the last out in the sixth. Brennan allowed one runner to reach first in the bottom of the seventh before the Red Dragons recorded back-to-back fielder's choices for the win.

Brown and Thys both went 1-for-3 at the plate, while Hussey and Mangone recorded an RBI.

Brown (10-5) recorded her seventh straight win in her four-strikeout performance, allowing one run on six hits. Brennan pitched the final 1.1 innings and allowed only one hit.

Kaitlyn Schmitz (10-7) was tagged with the loss, pitched 5.0 innings, struck out seven and allowed five runs, four earned, on five hits. Gabriella Petroski pitched the final two innings and had two strikeouts.

The winner between Oneonta and Cortland will play New Paltz on Friday at 5 p.m., while the loser will face Buffalo State in an elimination game at 3 p.m. Below are the results from day one and the schedule for day two.

Day 1 - Thursday, May 9
• Game 1 - New Paltz 4, Buffalo State 3
• Game 2 - Cortland 7, Fredonia 1 
• Game 3 - Oneonta 5, Geneseo 1
• Game 4 - Buffalo State 8, Fredonia 1 (Elimination Game - Fredonia eliminated)
• Game 5 - New Paltz 5 vs. Geneseo 0 (Geneseo eliminated)

Day 2 - Friday, May 10
• Game 6 - Cortland vs. Oneonta – 11 a.m.
• Game 7 – Buffalo St. vs. Loser of Game 6 - 3 p.m. - Elimination Game
• Game 8 – New Paltz vs. Winner of Game 6 - 5 p.m.  Read Full Article