ONEONTA, NY—Buffalo State (18-14/10-8) will return to the SUNYAC playoffs for the third time in four seasons this week, entering the six-team double elimination SUNYAC Championship at top-seeded Oneonta as the No. 5 seed.  The Bengals will open the tournament against No. 2 Cortland on Thursday at 11 a.m.
 
Buffalo State has hit .303 as a team this season, paced by sophomore infielder Stephanie Novo (Cheektowaga/Depew) who leads the SUNYAC with a .439 batting average.  She also leads the conference with 13 doubles and has four triples, two home runs and 20 RBIS.  Junior catcher Kate Brownell (Batavia/Oakfield-Alabama) and sophomore first baseman Sarah Gorski (Cheektowaga/Depew) have also provided consistent bats in the Bengals' lineup, hitting .371 and .341 respectively.
 
Maddie Coneys (Clifton Park/Catholic Central) has been the leader in Buffalo State's pitching rotation, going 9-5 with a 2.18 ERA and 52 strikeouts while playing through injury.  Sam Tilkins (Grand Island/Grand Island) has embraced her new role as a reliever and has posted a 5-1 record with a pair of saves and a 3.24 ERA.
 
Buffalo State dropped both halves of a doubleheader against Cortland earlier this month.  The Bengals lost the first game 5-3 despite outhitting the Red Dragons 7-5, and then fell 5-2 in the late game.
 
Buffalo State has won four SUNYAC Championships in its history with the most recent coming in 2009.
 
For live stats for all games, CLICK HERE

For a complete tournament schedule, CLICK HERE