2024 SUNYAC SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT PREVIEW
Thursday, May 9, 2024 - Sunday, May 12, 2024
 
FOLLOW ALONG…
TOURNAMENT HOME PAGE
 
TICKET INFORMATION (CASH ONLY)…
$10 (13 years old and up)     
$5 (5-12 years old)
FREE for SUNYAC students with student I.D.

FIRST ROUND: #6 BUFFALO STATE BENGALS VS #1 NEW PALTZ HAWKS
Thursday, May 9, 2024 – 8:30 AM
Mary Gray Deane Field – New Paltz, NY
 
THE MATCHUP… Sixth-seeded Buffalo State (15-18, 8-10 SUNYAC) is back in the SUNYAC Championship tournament for the second consecutive season, and eighth time in the last 10 seasons. The Bengals will face the host and top-seeded Hawks of New Paltz in the opening game of the double-elimination tournament. The winner of the contest will take on the loser of the third game between #3 Geneseo and #4 Oneonta on Friday morning. Meanwhile, the loser of the contest will face the loser of the second game between #2 Cortland and #5 Fredonia in an elimination game later on Thursday afternoon at 2:30 pm.
 
THE BENGALS' LAST GAME… Buffalo State wrapped up the regular season on Friday evening, dropping a doubleheader to Fredonia at the Softball Field by scores of 6-2 and 7-4. Sam Schafer (Depew, NY/Lancaster) went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored in game one for Buffalo State, while Katie Pyszczek (Elma, NY/St. Mary's of Lancaster) had a double and walked. Madison Lucas (Oakdale, PA/West Allegheny) pitched 3.2 scoreless innings in relief for the Bengals. Sarah Congelosi (Montgomery, NY/Valley Central) went 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, and two runs scored, while Mya Hurley (Amherst, NY/Amherst) and Caitlyn Parsons (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) each had two hits in game two. Kaitlyn Schnitzer (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) tossed a complete game, allowing just three earned runs.

After a scoreless first and second inning, Fredonia scored three runs in the third on an RBI double by Madison Lowe and a two-run homer by Emily Chelius. The Blue Devils added three more runs in the fourth, as Allie Wandell drove in two runs with a double down the left field line, and Chelius singled up the middle to drive in another run. The Bengals scored twice in the bottom of the fifth, but left two runners on base to end the inning. The fifth inning also featured an ejection and a failed protest for Buffalo State. In the sixth inning, Lucas and Schafer each singled with one out, but Buffalo State could not capitalize on the opportunity, with the next two batters striking out. Each team went down in order in the seventh inning, as Fredonia clinched a playoff spot with the victory.

Fredonia scored twice in the top of the first of game two, as Lowe tripled to left center for an RBI, and Chelius drove in another run with a groundout. Buffalo State scored once in the bottom of the first, as Congelosi doubled and scored on a throwing error after Hurley legged out an infield single. The Bengals left two runners in scoring position in the inning, however. Fredonia scored three unearned runs in the second inning after a throwing error by Buffalo State to extend the lead to 5-1. Schafer singled and eventually scored on a fielding error in the bottom of the second for Buffalo State, but the Bengals once again left two runners on base. Fredonia added a run in both the fourth and fifth innings to go up 7-2. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Congelosi tripled and scored on Hurley's single to center, and an error on a strikeout and Parsons' RBI single allowed the Bengals to make it 7-4 with the tying run at the plate, but Fredonia then ended the game on a groundout to move ahead of Buffalo State into the fifth seed.
 
NOT JUST AVERAGE… Caitlyn Parsons leads the Bengals in batting average, hits, total bases, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage. The senior first baseman's .409 batting average is also tenth in the SUNYAC.

RUN, SARAH, RUN… Sarah Congelosi is fourth in the SUNYAC with 19 stolen bases, while being caught just once. The junior is now 51-for-54 on stolen base attempts for her career.
 
ON SALE, TWO OUTS FOR ONE… Buffalo State has turned eight double plays this season, the second-best mark in the conference.

CAN'T GET IT PAST HER… Caitlyn Parsons is the toughest batter to strike out in the conference, and ranked 36th in the nation in at-bats per strikeout. Parsons has just two strikeouts in 93 times at bat, an average of 46.5 at-bats per strikeout.

"SAC"ING UP… Lexi Quagliana's (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South) four sacrifice flies are tied for the conference lead. Her total also ranks 43rd in the country in that category.

GETTING THE OFFENSE RUNNING… Sarah Congelosi leads Buffalo State with 24 runs scored on the year. Buffalo State is 11-3 so far this season in games where she has scored at least one run.

MULTI-TASKERS… Buffalo State has recorded multiple hits for a player in a single game 50 times this season. Sarah Congelosi and Caitlyn Parsons each have nine such instances, including one four-hit game apiece.
 
DRIVE THE BALL… Lexi Quagliana leads the Bengals with 17 runs batted in on the year. The freshman infielder has five games with two or more RBIs in a game to lead the team. Buffalo State is 7-3 in games this season when Quagliana drives in a run.

IN THE CIRCLE… Izzy Pezdek (Lancaster, NY/Grand Island) leads the Buffalo State pitching staff, tossing 84.2 innings with an ERA of 2.98. Her ERA is the fifth-best mark in the SUNYAC, and the best mark for a first-year player.  

HITTING THE BOOKS… The Bengals hold a cumulative 3.40 GPA as a team, and also had nine players selected to the Dean's List in the Fall 2023 semester: Lexi Quagliana, Mya Hurley, Emma Hooftallen (Round Hill, VA/Woodgrove), Madison Lucas, Cam O'Hara (Troy, Ny/Catholic Central), Kaitlyn Schnitzer, Samantha Kelly (Tonawanda, NY/Kenmore East), Caitlyn Parsons, and Jean Rogers (Schenectady, NY/Mohonasen).  

SUNYAC HISTORY… The Bengals have advanced to the SUNYAC Tournament in 26 of the last 32 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. The Bengals advanced to the championship round of the tournament in 2023, before falling to Geneseo, 1-0.

THE NEW PALTZ NEWS… New Paltz enters the tournament with a 31-5 overall record (17-1 SUNYAC). The Hawks are also riding a three-game winning streak. New Paltz shut out Buffalo State twice earlier this season, 2-0 and 6-0, at Mary Gray Deane Field.

The Hawks have combined for a stellar 1.45 ERA on the season, led by reigning SUNYAC Pitcher of the Year Lindsay Roman and Sydney Waldon. Roman has pitched to a 1.13 ERA with a 14-4 record and 75 strikeouts in 124 innings, while Waldon leads the conference with a 16-1 record, and is third in both strikeouts and ERA with 105 strikeouts and a 1.74 ERA, in 100.1 innings pitched. At the plate, Kelsey O'Brien and Jaycee Filancia are sixth and seventh, respectively, in batting average in the conference. Filancia's 17 doubles on the year also lead the SUNYAC.  
 
THE REST OF THE COMPETITION….
Second-seeded Cortland heads into the tournament on a six-game winning streak, with a 25-7 overall record (15-3 SUNYAC). The Red Dragons lead the conference in runs scored and batting average, while their .355 average as a team is 17th in the nation. Gina Meyers and Shannon Scotto are the top two hitters in the conference in batting average, with marks of .438 and .426, respectively. In the circle, Kim Westenberg has pitched to a 1.60 ERA and a 10-3 record over 87.1 innings.
 
Three-time defending conference champion Geneseo is the third seed after posting a 21-17 overall record (14-4 SUNYAC) for the regular season. After opening the season with a 3-13 record in March, the Knights have gone 18-4 in the months of April and May to close the regular season. Audrey Minton's .424 batting average is third in the conference, while Ray Schumacher has 39 RBIs, second in the conference. Kaitlyn Schmitz has a 2.93 ERA, fourth in the conference, to lead the Geneseo pitching staff.
 
The fourth-seeded Oneonta Red Dragons clinched a playoff berth with a 21-15 overall record (13-5 SUNYAC). Oneonta leads the conference with 99 stolen bases on the year, led by Delaney Haley's 29 steals, the most in the conference and 38th-most steals in the nation. Julia Serena's seven home runs and 41 RBIs on the year are both the most in the SUNYAC. Emily Brown's 9-5 record and 3.28 ERA lead the Red Dragons in the circle.
 
Fifth-seeded Fredonia has a 15-23 overall record (8-10 SUNYAC), and clinched a playoff berth and the fifth seed with a pair of victories on the final weekend of the regular season. The Blue Devils are led at the plate by Allie Wandell, who is hitting .336 on the season. On the rubber, Emily Chelius has a 3.72 ERA with 89 strikeouts in 94 innings, while Vanessa Galbraith holds a 7-7 record to lead the team.