2023 SUNYAC SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT PREVIEW
Thursday, May 11, 2023 - Sunday, May 14, 2023
 
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FIRST ROUND: #4 BUFFALO STATE BENGALS VS #3 GENESEO KNIGHTS
Thursday, May 11, 2023 – 3:00 PM
May Gray Deane Field – New Paltz, NY
 
THE MATCHUP… Fourth-seeded Buffalo State (23-13, 12-6 SUNYAC) heads to the SUNYAC Championship Tournament, beginning on Thursday and hosted by New Paltz. The Bengals will face the third-seeded Knights of Geneseo in the third game of the day on Thursday at 3 pm. The winner of the contest will take on the winner of the second game between #2 Cortland and #5 Plattsburgh. The loser will face the winner of the first game between #1 New Paltz and #6 Oneonta in the double-elimination tournament.
 
THE BENGALS' LAST GAME… The Buffalo State softball wrapped up the regular season on Saturday afternoon, dropping a doubleheader to Oneonta at the Softball Field by scores of 8-6 and 3-0. Jenna Wlostowski (Lancaster, NY/Alden) led Buffalo State at the plate, going 3-for-6 for the day. Caitlyn Parsons (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) also had three hits, and drove in two runs. Sarah Congelosi (Montgomery, NY/Valley Central), Kayla Wolinski (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster), and Mya Hurley (Amherst, NY/Amherst) each had two hits, while Deme Kellogg (Gansevoort, NY/South Glens Falls) drove in two runs. Grace Albano (North Tonawanda, NY/Niagara Wheatfield) pitched two scoreless innings in game two.

Oneonta took advantage of two Buffalo State errors in the first inning of game one to score four runs. The Red Dragons added a run in the second, before the Bengals responded with three runs in the bottom half of the inning on a two-run double by Kellogg and a sacrifice fly by Sydney Shuta (Newburgh, NY/Marlboro). Parsons' two-run single to left center in the fifth tied the score at 5-5. The Red Dragons then pushed across three runs in the top of the seventh, including a two-run homer by Julia Serena to make it 8-5. The Bengals scored one run in the bottom of the seventh, and had the tying runners on base, but were unable to equalize.

Kaitlyn Schnitzer (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) allowed just one hit through the first three innings as game two remained scoreless into the fourth. In the fourth inning, Serena's second home run of the day gave the Red Dragons a 1-0 lead. Buffalo State threatened in the bottom of the fourth with two runners on and nobody out, but the Bengals were unable to cash in. Oneonta added a pair of insurance runs in the fifth on a two-out, two-run single by Megan Palmatier. The Bengals were unable to find any offense the rest of the way to suffer a shutout defeat for the second time in three games.
 
LEADING THE PACK… Sydney Bielicki (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) sits atop the SUNYAC rankings among qualified batters in batting average and on-base percentage. The second baseman is batting .451 for the year, with a team-high 51 hits.

WOMEN OF STEAL… Sarah Congelosi is second in the SUNYAC with 20 stolen bases, while being caught just twice. Oriana Castello (Pearl River, NY/Nanuet) has 17 steals in 18 attempts this season, also sitting in third place in Buffalo State history with 57 stolen bases.
 
TWO IS THE MAGIC NUMBER… Buffalo State is 12-1 in games in which it has allowed two runs or fewer this season, including a 6-1 mark when holding conference opponents to two runs or less.

SUNYAC LEADERS… As a team, Buffalo State is leading the conference in a number of critical offensive categories: batting average (.351), on-base percentage (.401), slugging percentage (.475), and runs scored (238).

"SAC"ING UP… Sydney Shuta is tied for the conference lead with five sacrifice flies this season. Her total also ranks ninth in the country in that category.

MULTI-HIT MASHERS… The Bengals have recorded 95 multiple hit games as a team this season, led by Sydney Bielicki's 14 multi-hit games. Kayla Wolinski, Sarah Congelosi, and Caitlyn Parsons have registered multiple hits in 13, 12, and 11 games, respectively.

STREAKING… Caitlyn Parsons enters the SUNYAC Tournament on a 12-game hitting streak, batting 21-for-41 (.512) with three doubles, a home run, and 12 RBIs in that span.
 
DON'T RUN ON ME… Deme Kellogg has thrown out nine runners attempting to steal this season, the most in the SUNYAC. It is also the most runners caught stealing by a Bengal catcher since Lindsay Goff threw out nine runners in 2013.

WINNER, WINNER… Madison Lucas (Oakdale, PA/West Allegheny) is second in the SUNYAC with 13 victories in the circle for Buffalo State, while Kaitlyn Schnitzer (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) has nine wins and three shutouts.  

HITTING THE BOOKS… The Bengals hold a cumulative 3.56 GPA as a team, and also had 11 players selected to the Dean's List in the Fall 2022 semester: Mya Hurley, Samantha Kelly (Tonawanda, NY/Kenmore East), Meghan Baio (Youngstown, NY/Lewiston-Porter), Caitlyn Parsons, Kaitlyn Schnitzer, Sam Schafer (Depew, NY/Lancaster), Madison Lucas, Sydney Shuta, Deme Kellogg, Megan Galbraith (Lewiston, NY/Lewiston-Porter), and Erin Paolilli (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington).  

SUNYAC HISTORY… The Bengals have advanced to the SUNYAC Tournament in 25 of the last 31 seasons, and will be looking for their fifth SUNYAC Championship. The last time Buffalo State won the title was in 2009 on a walk-off home run by Buffalo State Athletics Hall of Famer Kyrstin Lekki.

GET TO KNOW GENESEO…  Geneseo sports a 21-16-1 overall record (12-6 SUNYAC), and enters the tournament riding a four-game winning streak. The Knights and Bengals split a doubleheader earlier this season at the Softball Field.
Geneseo is led at the plate by freshman Brooke Fraas, who has a .442 batting average, and 13 extra-base hits. Kaitlyn Schmitz is tied for second in the conference with 37 RBIs. Schmitz has also pitched to a 3.63 ERA while striking out 53 batters and posting a record of 5-4 on the rubber. The ace of the Knights' pitching staff has been Elizabeth Eberhardt, who has recorded a 2.28 ERA, five shutouts, and allowed just a .256 batting average against.
 
THE REST OF THE COMPETITION…
New Paltz is the top seed and host after posting a 29-11 overall record (16-2 SUNYAC) for the regular season. Led by one of the best pitchers in the conference in Lindsay Roman, the Hawks' have pitched to a 1.98 ERA as a team. Roman leads the conference with a 1.49 ERA and a 16-2 record on the mound. At the plate, New Paltz has the most hits, doubles, and RBIs as a team in the conference, thanks in large part to Jackie Rometo's team-high .426 batting average and 60 hits. Rometo is one of seven Hawks hitting over .300 this season.

Second-seeded Cortland heads into the tournament on a 12-game winning streak, with a 23-11 overall record (14-4 SUNYAC). The Red Dragons are led at the plate by Gina Meyers' .416 batting average this season. Meyers has also struck out just once in 125 at bats, and currently stands as the third-toughest to strike out in the nation. Red Dragon pitchers sport a 2.56 ERA, while Karlee Weeden has pitched to a 1.92 ERA with 80 strikeouts over 102.0 innings.
 
The Plattsburgh Cardinals enter the tournament as the fifth seed after posting a 22-10 record (11-7 SUNYAC) in the regular season. As a team, the Cardinals are hitting .331 for the year, third best in the SUNYAC. Kristina Maggiacomo leads a pitching staff that has held opponents to a .279 batting average for the year, and has posted 105 strikeouts over 100.0 innings pitched with a 2.79 ERA.
 
The sixth-seeded Oneonta Red Dragons clinched a playoff berth on the final weekend of the year, entering the tournament with a 17-20-1 overall record (10-8 SUNYAC). The Red Dragons have demonstrated a perfect blend of power and speed on offense, leading the conference in both home runs and stolen bases by a wide margin. First baseman Megan Palmatier has a SUNYAC-leading nine homers, while Adriana Fiori leads the conference with 23 stolen bases in 24 attempts. Oneonta also has three qualified batters hitting over .400 for the season.