ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The Oneonta softball team got the bats rolling and recorded 21 hits as they defeated Potsdam twice in their SUNYAC doubleheader, Friday afternoon at the Red Dragon Softball Stadium. Oneonta trailed in game one until they put up eight runs in the sixth inning for a 9-2 win, then they gained an early edge in game two for a 7-3 victory. The Red Dragons improved to 12-12 on the season, 6-2 in SUNYAC play, and the Bears dropped to 7-18 overall and 1-9 in the conference.
Sophomore
Ava Thys (Fairfax, Va./James W. Robinson Secondary (Va.)) finished the doubleheader 4-for-8 with four RBI, splitting each game 2-for-4 with two RBI. Senior
Julia Serena (White Plains, N.Y./Valhalla) went 3-for-7 on the day with four RBI as she smashed her 26th career home run, and freshman
Tatum Passonno (Latham, N.Y./Shaker) ended the twin bill 3-for-6 with three RBI.
Game One: Oneonta 9, Potsdam 2
Potsdam got a pair of runs on the board in the top of the fourth to take a 2-0 edge. The Bears got two runners on with a single and a double then scored both on a throwing error. Oneonta got one run back in the bottom half of the fourth when Passonno smacked a single past the third baseman and scored Serena.
The Red Dragons rallied in the sixth inning for eight runs and took the final 9-2 lead. After junior
Jaime Cardello (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) hit a single, Serena gave Oneonta the advantage with a two-run home run over the center field wall. Passonno laid down a bunt and reached first safely while freshman
Riley McDonnell (Melville, N.Y./Walt Whitman) crossed home to make it 4-2. With two outs and the bases loaded, Thys roped a line drive to left field and scored two runners. Cardello worked a walk to reload the bases, then Serena poked a single out to left center and brought home two more runs to extend the lead to 8-2. Cardello recorded the final run off a Bears error when the shortstop misplayed a ground ball.
Thys, Serena, sophomore
Emily Brown (Westbury, N.Y./Clarke), and senior
Sophia Mangone (Ardsley, N.Y./Ardsley) all finished 2-for-4. Serena recorded four RBI in the win, while Passonno and Thys each had two.
Freshman
Tanner Smith (White Plains, N.Y./Vahalla) (4-3) pitched the complete game and picked up the win for Oneonta. Smith struck out four batters and allowed two unearned runs on four hits. Lexie Cottrill (4-9) was tagged with the loss after pitching the complete game, striking out three while allowing nine runs, three earned, on 11 hits.
Game Two: Oneonta 7, Potsdam 3
Oneonta scored four runs in the second inning for a 4-0 advantage. Mangone and Brown were on the corners when Mangone stole second and the catcher overthrew the ball which allowed Brown to cross home. Passonno brought Mangone home with a single past the outstretched shortstop to centerfield. After freshman
Kayla Kean (Ballston Lake, N.Y./Shenendehowa) reached first on a fielder's choice, Thys poked a single out to centerfield to score both Passonno and Kean for the four-run lead.
The Bears recorded three runs in the sixth to pull within one, however the Red Dragons answered back with three runs in the bottom of the sixth for the 7-3 final. Kean blasted a triple to right field to lead off the inning, then scored when junior
Abigail Silliman (Rensselaer, N.Y./Columbia) dropped a single into shallow left field. Cardello hit a single directly at the left fielder and scored Silliman, then Thys recorded the final run of the game on a passed ball.
Thys went 2-for-4 with two RBI, and Passonno was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Cardello and Silliman each recorded a hit and an RBI.
Brown (7-5) pitched the complete game for Oneonta, struck out seven, and allowed two unearned runs on four hits. Sam Horne (3-9) received the loss for Potsdam after pitching the complete game, striking out one, and allowing six runs on 10 hits.
Oneonta returns to action Saturday, April 19, for a SUNYAC twin bill against Plattsburgh starting at 11 am on Red Dragon Softball Stadium.
