STAFF REPORTS
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FREDONIA — Allie Block (N. Tonawanda/Starpoint) gave up just nine hits and struck out 18 as she pitched a pair of complete games to lead Buffalo State to a sweep at Fredonia, 7-3 and 2-0, today to prevent the Blue Devils from clinching the “Battle by the Lake” competition.
Game #1: Buffalo State – 7, Fredonia – 3
Buffalo State used a four-run seventh inning to post a 7-3 win in the opener. Emma Ruggiero (Amherst/Sacred Heart) was 2 for 4 at the plate with an RBI and a run scored. Cassandra O’Hern (Augusta, NJ/High Point) was 1 for 3 with three RBIs. Block pitched the win, scattering five hits and fanning a season-high 12 in the complete game effort. Buffalo State drew three-straight two-out walks and O’Hern hit a two-run single to give the Bengals a first-inning lead. Buffalo State took advantage of another walk in the second inning that eventually led to another run on an RBI single by Ruggiero to make it 3-0. Fredonia scored one run in the fourth and then led off the sixth inning with a home run to cut the deficit to one and later tied the score at 3-3. After mustering just two hits in the first six innings, the Bengals reclaimed the lead with some insurance, plating four runs on three hits and an error in the seventh to post the victory.
Game #2: Buffalo State – 2, Fredonia – 0
Block posted her first shutout of the season in the circle, allowing just four hits and striking out six.
Ruggiero continued to provide a boost at the plate, going 2 for 4 with a run scored, and Laura Crooks (Niagara Falls/Niagara Wheatfield) also finished 2 for 4. Ruggiero scored the first run of the game off an RBI single by Kaelee Lynch (Atwater, CA/Buhach Colony) in the first inning. Melissa Woods (Lakeview/Frontier) added an RBI single in the seventh inning to complete the scoring.
Buffalo State is next scheduled to play a pair of non-conference games at Nazareth on Tuesday.
