STAFF REPORTS
news@allwnynews.com
FREDONIA — Buffalo State fell to New Paltz, 4-1 in its opener before bouncing back with a 4-2 victory in game two as the two teams met for a SUNYAC doubleheader at Fredonia’s Blue Devil Field this afternoon.
Game #1: New Paltz, 4 – Buff State, 1
Danielle Szymkowiak (Cheektowaga/Cheektowaga) went 1-for-2 in the opener, driving in the Bengals’ lone RBI. Emma Ruggiero (Amherst/Sacred Heart) finished 1-for-3 with a run scored in her first game ever for the softball program. Allie Block (N. Tonawanda/Starpoint) threw a complete-game, going seven innings while allowing just four hits, four earned runs and seven strikeouts. New Paltz did all its damage in the first inning, as the Hawks scored four runs to jump out to an early lead.
Buffalo State responded with a run of its own in the bottom half of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Szymkowiak to cut the lead to 4-1. Neither team could figure out the others pitching the rest of the way. Buffalo State would produce just three hits over the remaining six innings of play while Block held New Paltz to just a single hit over the same period. With neither team scoring after the first, New Paltz held on for the remainder of the game to collect the 4-1 victory.
Game #2: New Paltz, 2 – Buff State, 4
Block threw another complete-game to pick up her fifth win of the season, allowing nine hits and just two runs (one earned) to go with three strikeouts. Laura Crooks (Niagara Falls/Niagara-Wheatfield), Kaelee Lynch (Atwater, CA/Buhach Colony), Melissa Woods (Lakeview/Frontier), Szymkowiak, Block and Ruggiero all picked up a hit in the contest. Cassandra O’Hern (Augusta, NJ/High Point), Nicole Adams (Lockport/Starpoint), Block and Crooks came around to score for the Bengals. Lynch drove in two runs while Szymkowiak and Woods each chipped in an RBI. New Paltz again struck first in game two, scoring one run in the top of the first and adding another in the second to take a 2-0 lead. Buffalo State responded in the bottom half of the inning, as Lynch singled up the middle to drive in two to tie the game at two. The Bengals weren’t done there as Woods later followed with a single through the left side of the infield that plated another to give Buffalo State a 3-2 lead after two.
The Bengals added another in the third, as Szymkowiak singled up the middle to plate Crooks to make it a 4-2 game. New Paltz put pressure on, including bringing the tying run to the plate in the top of the seventh, but Block slammed the door and got Buffalo State its first SUNYAC win of the season.
Buffalo State returns home to host Oneonta in another conference doubleheader tomorrow beginning at 11 a.m.
