OSWEGO, N.Y. -- The Oneonta softball team picked up a pair of SUNYAC wins on the road against Oswego, Tuesday afternoon. Oneonta took the low-scoring game one, 2-1, then they recorded 10 runs in the final two innings of game two for a 13-6 win. Senior
Julia Serena (White Plains, N.Y./Valhalla) finished the day 5-for-9 with a home run, the 25th of her career, three doubles and five RBI. Sophomore
Emily Brown (Westbury, N.Y./Clarke) tied her own single game strikeout program record with 14 strikeouts in game two as she secured her sixth win this season in the circle. The Red Dragons improved to 10-12 overall, 4-2 in SUNYAC play, while the Lakers dropped to 7-13 this season and 0-4 in the conference.
Oneonta had several players with a hot bat throughout the twin bill. Freshman
Kayla Kean (Ballston Lake, N.Y./Shenendehowa) blasted her first career home run as a Red Dragon and finished 3-for-7 with the homer, two doubles and two RBI. Freshman
Tatum Passonno (Latham, N.Y./Shaker) went 3-for-6 on the day with an RBI double. Sophomore
Ava Thys (Fairfax, Va./James W. Robinson Secondary (Va.)) batted leadoff both games and was 4-for-9 with an RBI, and junior
Abigail Silliman (Rensselaer, N.Y./Columbia) recorded an RBI in each game and finished 3-for-7 with a double and two RBI.
Game One: Oneonta 2, Oswego 1
The Red Dragons got their first run on the board in the top of the second inning. Passonno hit a bloop single into shallow right field, then Silliman smacked a two-out double to the left field fence to bring her freshman teammate home.
In the top of the third, Oneonta extended their lead off an Oswego error. After Serena laced a double over the right fielder, Brown hit a grounder to the Lakers shortstop, who overthrew her first baseman and allowed Serena to score.
Oswego scored their lone run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh off a single, then Oneonta sealed the win with a pop up to first base on the next batter.
Freshman
Tanner Smith (White Plains, N.Y./Vahalla) (3-3) earned the win for the Red Dragons after she pitched the complete game, struck out five and allowed one unearned run on four hits. Gabriela Milazzo (2-4) was tagged with the loss for the Lakers after she went the full 7.0 innings, allowing two runs, one earned, on six hits.
Game Two: Oneonta 13, Oswego 6
Oneonta gained the first lead in game two with three runs in the top of the fourth. Serena led the inning off with a single to left field, then sophomore pinch runner
Maya Nelsen (South Salem, N.Y./John Jay Cross River) scored from second off a double that was smacked to center field by Passonno. Kean followed Passonno and crushed her first career home run on a 2-2 count to put the Red Dragons up 3-0.
Oswego took a 4-3 advantage after a solo home run in the fourth and three runs in the fifth. The Lakers tied the game on an RBI single then gained the one-run edge on a bases-loaded walk.
The Red Dragons regained the lead for good with six runs in the top of the sixth. Silliman slapped a single up the middle and scored senior
Sophia Mangone (Ardsley, N.Y./Ardsley) to tie the game at four. The rally continued when Thys hit an RBI single that bounced off the pitcher and scored Kean, then junior
Jaime Cardello (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) hit a grounder to the shortstop who bobbled the ball and threw it over to third, but the throw was off target and allowed Silliman to score. Serena brought in both Thys and Cardello with a double and Brown capped off the run with a double to center field that plated Serena for a 9-4 lead.
The Lakers cut the deficit to three with a couple runs in the sixth, but the Red Dragons rallied for another four runs in the seventh for the 13-6 final. Cardello hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield, then Serena lasered a three-run home run over the left field wall.
Serena and Thys both finished the game 3-for-5, Serena had five RBI while Thys had one. Passonno, Kean, and Silliman each had two hits and combine for four RBI.
Brown (6-5) got the win for Oneonta after pitching 7.0 innings and tying her own program record 14 strikeouts. She allowed six runs, three earned on seven hits and three walks. Maria Lutz (3-6) received the loss after pitching 5.2 innings, striking out three, and allowing nine runs, three earned, on 10 hits.
The Red Dragons are back in action on Friday, April 18, for a SUNYAC doubleheader against Potsdam starting at 3 pm on Red Dragon Softball Field.
