BUFFALO, NY – It was another strong season for the Buffalo State softball team as they earned a third straight trip to the SUNYAC Playoffs and registered their fourth appearance in the last five seasons. At 22-18 (14-4 SUNYAC), the Bengals earned their most conference wins in a season since 2012 as they were the three-seed come time for postseason play.
 
After opening the season at the annual Spring Games with a record of 4-8, the Bengals rallied to win nine of their next 11 games overall. Buffalo State carried that momentum the rest of the way as the finished the regular season winning four of their final five games into the postseason. Along the way, head coach Jamie Brown picked up her 100^th win at Buffalo State (3/20 vs. Edgewood) and her 400^th career win overall against Fredonia (4/27). Brown currently sits second in program history with 120 wins, only trailing Sandra Hollander.
 
As a team, the Bengals also posted an impressive offensive season. Buffalo State ranked first in the SUNYAC in slugging percentage (.427), second in hits (351), and third in RBI (194), batting average (.304), and on-base percentage (.365). Brown's squad also slugged 17 home runs, their most since 2012, to lead the conference. On the mound, Buffalo State had the best staff ERA in the SUNYAC at 2.69 with Izzy Pezdek (Lancaster, NY/Grand Island) and Madison Lucas (Oakdale, PA/West Allegheny) finishing second and third individually in the conference at 2.14 and 2.40, respectively. The duo also got it done at the plate for the Bengals where Pezdek was top-5 in the SUNYAC with four home runs while Lucas was in the top-5 in batting average and RBI. In addition, the Bengals posted a .953 fielding percentage which was the second best in the league.
 
Individually, the Bengals also had multiple athletes post strong seasons. Buffalo State earned six All-SUNYAC selections as Lucas, Ella Stewart (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park), and Lexi Quagliana (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South) earned First Team and Pezdek, Mya Hurley (Williamsville, NY/Amherst), and Deme Kellogg (Gansevoort, NY/South Glens Falls) earned Second Team. Six All-SUNYAC selections were the most in a single season for the program since 1995. Quagliana also was named the SUNYAC Elite 20 Award winner: an award given to the athlete with the highest GPA.
 
The Buffalo State softball team has continued to be one of the top programs in the conference. A young, deep, and exciting team is set up to continue that trend in the coming years as they continue to search for their first SUNYAC Championship since 2009.