BUFFALO, NY – Spring is finally starting to show as the Buffalo State softball team is ready to open action this week at their annual trip to Florida for THE Spring Games. Buffalo State will open their season this afternoon with a pair of matchups against Keuka and Old Westbury. In 2025, the Bengals finished the season at 22-18 (14-4 SUNYAC), earning their most conference wins in a season since 2012 as they were the three-seed come time for postseason play.
 
"We are very excited to see what this group can do", head coach Jamie Brown said. "We have a great mix of experience and youthful energy. Since we started in the fall,  they have steadily improved in every area and I am looking forward to seeing that growth on the field", Brown added.
 
Along the way in 2025, Brown picked up her 100^th career 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 Buffalo State Athletics Hall of Famer-Sandra Hollander.
 
As a team in 2025, 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 in ERA. 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.

The Bengals also posted a .953 fielding percentage, which was the second best in the league.
 
Individually, the Bengals also had multiple athletes fill out the stat sheet. 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 during the SUNYAC Tournament; the first in program history.
 
The Buffalo State softball team is a strong dynamic of veteran presence as well as new faces that are ready to contribute right out of the gate. The squad is eager to begin their 2026 campaign and continue their quest for a SUNYAC Championship.