SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- The Oneonta softball team dropped their twin bill on the road to Skidmore Monday afternoon. The Red Dragons fell 13-4 in six innings in game one, then the Thoroughbreds took game two, 4-3. The results moved Oneonta to 2-16 overall while Skidmore improved to 10-8 this season.

Junior Emily Brown (Westbury, NY/Clarke) finished the day 5-for-7 and scored two runs. Senior Jaime Cardello (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Walter Panas) and sophomore Riley McDonnell (Melville, N.Y./Walt Whitman) both ended the twin bill 2-for-5 with two RBI. Sophomores Sophia Camacho (Newburgh, NY/Our Lady of Lourdes), Tatum Passonno (Latham, N.Y./Shaker), and freshman Eva Blaney (Huntington Station, NY/Walt Whitman) all went 2-for-6, as Blaney totaled an RBI and two runs, Passonno scored twice, and Camacho crossed home once.

Game One: Oneonta 4, Skidmore 13 (6 Innings) 
Oneonta scored the first run in game one during the top of the second inning, however Skidmore answered with a run in the bottom half of the inning. McDonnell hit a bloop single between the second baseman and right fielder to bring in Passonno, then the Thoroughbreds tied it back up with a single up the middle.

In the bottom of the third, Skidmore totaled four runs to take a 5-1 lead. After scoring their first run on a triple, Delaney Swain scored two on a single to left field, then she scored on a single to center field.

The Red Dragons cut their deficit to 5-3 in the top of the fourth inning when Cardello smacked a double to left field that brought home Passonno and Brown. In the bottom half of the fourth, the Thoroughbreds rebuilt their four-run lead with an inside the park home run by Elle Harrison and an RBI single from Rachel Monser. Harrison extended her team's lead to five, 8-3, in the next inning with a single up the middle.

Oneonta made it an 8-4 game in the top of the sixth inning when Blaney scored on a fielding error during Brown's single, however Skidmore closed out the game in the bottom of the inning with five runs to force the mercy rule. Natalie Mayne brought in the first run with a double then she scored on a misthrow during a double steal attempt. They brought in one more on a single, then Madison Bonham ended the game with a two-run home run.

Cardello, Passonno, and Brown all ended game one 2-for-3. Cardello recorded two RBI, Passonno scored twice, and Brown scored a run.

Senior Anna Torgersen (Chester, NJ/Mendham) (2-6) received the loss after pitching 2.1 innings, striking out two, and allowing five runs, three earned, on four hits. 

Mallory Allen (6-2) received the win for Skidmore after pitching the complete game, striking out two, and allowing four runs, three earned, on nine hits. 

Game Two: Oneonta 3, Skidmore 4 
The Red Dragons got on the board with two runs to lead off game two. After Camacho roped a single up the middle, she scored on a grounder from sophomore Kayla Kean (Ballston Lake, N.Y./Shenendehowa). Blaney made it a 2-0 game when she hit a single to right center on a 0-2 count and brought home Brown.

The Thoroughbreds responded with four runs in the bottom of the first to go up 4-2. Their first run came off a fielder's choice where Cortney Somsky beat out the throw to home. Skidmore then scored on a sacrifice fly, a base loaded hit by pitch and a bases loaded walk for their two-run lead.

Blaney reached second on a throwing error to lead off the fourth inning, then she advanced to third on a grounder from sophomore Millie Reed (Fairport, NY/Fairport). The next batter was McDonnell, and she hit an infield grounder to second base to bring in McDonnell and make it a one-run deficit for Oneonta.

The Red Dragons threatened to score the game-tying run in the fifth and sixth innings, but they came up empty, and the Thoroughbreds were able to hang on to the lead. Brown hit a one-out single in the fifth to get on base then Kean smashed the ball towards the center field wall, but Harrison made the leaping catch at the wall to maintain the lead. The next inning, McDonnell and freshman Kendall Ward (Manorville, NY/Eastport-South Manor) started a two-out rally with back-to-back singles, though the rally came to an end with a fly out during the next at-bat.

Brown finished game two 3-for-4 and scored a run, while Ward went 2-for-3. Blaney and McDonnell both went 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Freshman Caitlin McTiernan (Staten Island, NY/St. Joseph by the Sea) (0-6) was tagged with the loss after pitching the complete game, striking out two, and allowing four runs on two hits.

Mayne (2-0) got the win for Skidmore after pitching the complete game, striking out four and allowing three runs, two earned, on eight hits.

The Red Dragons are back home for their next doubleheader on Friday, April 3, for the start of SUNYAC play against Buffalo State starting at 3 pm at Red Dragon Softball Field. Read Full Article