BUFFALO, NY – Buffalo State (18-15, 11-7 SUNYAC) will return to the SUNYAC playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons this week, entering the six-team double elimination SUNYAC Championship at top-seeded Cortland as the No. 4 seed. The Bengals will open the tournament against No. 3 Oneonta on Thursday at 1 p.m.

Buffalo State has hit .319 as a team this season, paced by senior Joanna Bardak (Amherst, NY/Amherst) who is third in the SUNYAC with a .425 batting average. Junior Stephanie Novo (Cheektowaga, NY/Depew) and senior Taylor Swiatek (East Aurora, NY/Orchard Park) have also provided consistent bats in the Bengals' lineup, hitting .376 and .362 respectively. Swiatek recorded a 23 game hit streak, while Novo currently leads the conference with 35 RBI's, a .692 slugging percentage and also has the most home runs overall with eight.

Alison Novak (Amherst, NY/Williamsville North) leads the Bengals in the circle and is second in the conference with a 1.40 ERA. She is 3-1 overall and has tallied 18 strikeouts. Maddie Coneys (Clifton Park, NY/Catholic Central) currently holds a 3.60 ERA, is 4-6 and is tied for the most strikeouts on the team with 41. First-year Bengal Alexis Haley (Rochester, NY/Aquinas) is 8-7 overall with a 3.64 ERA. She has also recorded 41 strikeouts and has pitched 89 innings, the most for Buffalo State.

The Bengals are ranked third in the SUNYAC in batting average (.319) and pitching ERA (2.63)

Buffalo State split a doubleheader with Oneonta at home earlier this month. The Bengals lost 9-1 in five innings during the first game of the day, but their bats came alive in game two and Buffalo State rallied to defeat the Red Dragons 11-1 in five innings.

Buffalo State has won four SUNYAC Championships in its history with the most recent coming in 2009.

For a complete tournament schedule, CLICK HERE.