ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The Oneonta softball team fell in their doubleheader against Hamilton in non-conference play, Wednesday afternoon at Red Dragon Softball Field. Hamilton scored four runs late in game one to force extra innings and took it in the eighth, 5-4, then secured game two, 8-4, before the game was called after five innings due to darkness. The results moved the Red Dragons to 5-19 this season, and the Continentals to 7-16 overall. 

"It was a great non-league matchup against a well-rounded team," said Interim Head Coach Catherine Johnson. "These games are here to show us what we need to improve on going into conference play. A couple tune ups and we will be locked in for conference this weekend."

Senior Jaime Cardello (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Walter Panas) and freshman Eva Blaney (Huntington Station, NY/Walt Whitman) both went 1-for-4 with an RBI in game one, while sophomore Kayla Kean (Ballston Lake, N.Y./Shenendehowa) was 1-for-2 with two walks and two runs scored. Freshman Ella Kean (Ballston Lake, NY/Shenendehowa) recorded two RBI and went 1-for-3 with a triple in game two, and freshman Rylee McGinness (East Quogue, NY/Westhampton Beach) was 1-for-2 with an RBI.

Game One: Oneonta 4, Hamilton 5 (8 Innings)
Oneonta gained the early lead in game one when Camacho was on third and sophomore Riley McDonnell (Melville, N.Y./Walt Whitman) flied out to center. Camacho stayed at third until the center fielder overthrew the catcher, then she crossed home.

The Red Dragons made it a 2-0 game in the bottom of the fourth inning. K. Kean led off the inning with a deep double to center field. Two outs later, Blaney blasted a double to center field to bring in Kean. Oneonta threatened to score more runs with runners on second and third, but Hamilton got out of the inning with a strike out.

The Continentals tied it in the top half of the fifth inning on a groundout and a Red Dragon throwing error. In the bottom half of the fifth, Cardello answered back with a bloop single to centerfield that scored Camacho and gave Oneonta a 3-2 edge. The Red Dragons had the bases loaded in the inning with one out, though once again, the road team got out of the jam with a strikeout and groundout.

In the top of the sixth, Hamilton took advantage of another Oneonta mishap and scored on an error, then on a fielder's choice to take a 4-3 lead.

Down to their final out, the Red Dragons pieced together a quick one-two rally to tie the game in the seventh. K. Kean worked a walk to bring up Cardello, then the senior third baseman smacked the first pitch she saw to center, and the center fielder had the ball pop out of her glove to allow Cardello to reach second and Kean to come home. The Continentals ended the inning the next at-bat to force extra innings.

With a runner starting on second base to start extra innings, Hamilton's Hadley Rogers advanced to third on a wild pitch, then she scored on a one-out sacrifice fly from Kelsey Vadnais.

Sophomore Anna Spicciatie (Oakdale, N.Y./Connetquot) started on second in the bottom of the eighth for Oneonta, and she advanced to third on a passed ball. Sophomore Abigail Silliman (Rensselaer, N.Y./Columbia) worked a one-out walk to get the winning run on base, however Hamilton forced two groundouts to end the game.

Freshman Caitlin McTiernan (Staten Island, NY/St. Joseph by the Sea) (1-7) was tagged with the loss after pitching 2.2 innings, striking out two batters, and allowing one unearned run on one hit. Senior Anna Torgersen (Chester, NJ/Mendham) started the first 4.1 innings for Oneonta, struck out two, and allowed two unearned runs on three hits. Sophomore Bridget Barry (East Patchogue, N.Y.) pitched 1.0 innings, struck out one, and allowed two runs, one earned, on one hit.

Yael Everett (3-8) got the win for Hamilton after pitching 4.1 innings, striking out seven batters and allowing two runs, one earned, on two hits. Lauren Farace pitched the first 3.2 innings, struck out three, and allowed two runs, one earned, on three hits. Rogers finished the game 2-for-3 and scored twice, while Miranda Mosqueda had two RBI for the Continentals.

Game Two: Oneonta 4, Hamilton 8 (5 Innings – Darkness)
Hamilton took a 3-0 advantage with three runs in the second inning. The Continentals extended their lead to six with three more runs in the top of the fourth inning with an RBI-double from Rogers, and two runs off an error.

The Red Dragons scored three runs in the bottom half of the fourth to cut the deficit back to three, 6-3. Cardello started the inning off with a walk then she moved to second with a two-out single up the middle from Spicciatie. Next up was E. Kean, and she blasted the ball to the right field fence for a triple that scored Cardello and Spicciatie. McGinness followed Kean with a single to left field, where the left fielder could not make the diving catch, and brought in the freshman Red Dragon to make it a three-run game.

The Continentals tallied two runs in the top of the fifth off an RBI-single and a wild pitch to go up 8-3. The Red Dragons started the bottom of the fifth loading the bases with a single from Cardello and a pair of walks from McDonnell and K. Kean. Silliman brought McDonnell home with a grounder to trim the deficit to 8-4. Oneonta reloaded the bases with a walk from Spicciatie, then Hamilton got the second out by getting the force out at home during the next at-bat. With two outs and the teams playing in almost complete darkness, the Red Dragons sent Kean home following the first pitch of McGinness's at-bat to end the game.

Sophomore Tanner Smith (White Plains, N.Y./Vahalla) (1-4) received the loss after pitching 1.2 innings, striking out two batters, and allowing three runs, two earned, on four hits. McTiernan pitched 2.1 innings, struck out one, and allowed five runs, two earned, on seven hits. Torgersen pitched 1.0 inning without allowing a hit.

Aubrey Purvis (2-4) got the win for Hamilton after pitching 3.2 innings, striking out five, and allowing three runs on five hits. Farace pitched 1.1 innings, struck out one, and allowed one run on one hit.

Oneonta is on the road for their next doubleheader as they head to Cortland for a SUNYAC twin bill and the Battle of the Red Dragons on Friday, April 10, starting at 2 pm. Read Full Article