NEW PALTZ, N.Y. -- The Oneonta softball team defeated Fredonia in an elimination game to open the SUNYAC tournament, then they fell to New Paltz in game two of the conference tournament, Thursday afternoon in New Paltz. The Red Dragons limited the Blue Devils to three hits in a 4-0 shutout victory, before falling to the Hawks, 8-0, in five innings.
Sophomore
Sophia Camacho (Newburgh, NY/Our Lady of Lourdes) finished the day 2-for-5, scoring a run and stealing a base. Senior
Jaime Cardello (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Walter Panas) went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI in the win against Fredonia. Freshman
Caitlin McTiernan (Staten Island, NY/St. Joseph by the Sea) pitched 5.2 scoreless innings with five strikeouts against the Blue Devils.
Game One – Elimination Game: Oneonta 4, Fredonia 0
Camacho led off game one with a first-pitch double into the outfield, then the sophomore Red Dragon advanced to third on a fly out. With one out, senior
Emily Brown (Westbury, NY/Clarke) hit a grounder to shortstop that allowed Camacho to cross home to put Oneonta on the board.Â
The Red Dragons extended their lead with another run in the top of the fourth inning. Senior
Abigail Silliman (Rensselaer, N.Y./Columbia) reached first on a fielder's choice before she advanced to third on a two-out single from freshman
Eva Blaney (Huntington Station, NY/Walt Whitman). Silliman made it a two-run game during sophomore
Kayla Kean's (Ballston Lake, N.Y./Shenendehowa) at-bat, who reached first on a fielding error.
In the top of the fifth, Oneonta added two more runs to their lead for the 4-0 final. Sophomore
Tatum Passonno (Latham, N.Y./Shaker) worked a walk to start off the inning, then one out later, E. Kean singled to move Passonno over to second. Next up was Cardello, and she smacked a two-run double on a 1-2 count to left field to bring in Passonno and Kean.
Fredonia threatened to score in the bottom of the sixth with two runners on with one out, but Oneonta got out of the situation with a pair of pop ups. Down to their final at-bats, the Blue Devils got another two runners on with two outs, however senior
Anna Torgersen (Chester, NJ/Mendham) ended the threat by forcing a groundout to end the game.
McTiernan (4-8) earned the win after pitching 5.2 innings, striking out five, while allowing only three hits. Torgersen pitched the final 1.1 scoreless innings and only allowed two walks.Â
Blaney was 3-for-4 in the victory, while E. Kean was 2-for-4 with a run scored. Camacho was 1-for-3 and scored a run.
Kendall Phillips (10-10) was tagged with the loss for Fredonia after going 4.1 innings, striking out three, and allowing four runs, three earned, on seven hits. Sabrina Edwards-Smith pitched the final 2.2 innings and allowed two hits. Kayla Lynn went 2-for-3 for the Blue Devils and Eva Gnadzinski was 1-for-1 on a pinch hit.
Game Two – Oneonta 0, New Paltz 8 (5 Innings)
Camacho opened game two up with a single to center field. She later stole second base with two outs to get into scoring position, but New Paltz ended the inning with a fly out to keep the game scoreless.
The Hawks pulled away in the bottom of the second inning, scoring all eight of their runs. The first run was scored on a single by Jenna Carmody, then Maddie Anderson hit a two-run single. New Paltz made it a four-run game before they hit a couple of RBI singles to go up six. The final runs were scored on wild pitches.
The Red Dragons looked to score in the top of the third, when Camacho reached on a fielder's choice while Passonno singled to right field with two outs. The Hawks closed out the inning on the next at-bat with a fly out. New Paltz went three up, three down in the next two innings to end the game.
Camacho, Passonno, and K. Kean all went 1-for-2 in the game.
Torgersen (7-11) was tagged with the decision after pitching 1.0+ innings, striking out one, and allowing three runs on three hits. McTiernan pitched 0.2 innings, struck out two, and allowed five runs on three hits. Sophomore
Tanner Smith (White Plains, N.Y./Vahalla) pitched the final 2.1 scoreless innings for the Red Dragons, struck out two, and allowed two hits.
Alex Frenza (16-5) pitched the complete game for New Paltz, struck out four, and allowed three hits. Mallory Rohon and Ella Sharrock both went 2-for-3 with an RBI, while Anderson went 1-for-3 with two RBI.
The winner between the Red Dragons and Bengals will advance and play the loser between Cortland and New Paltz later Friday afternoon.
