Day 3 of SUNYAC Softball Championship
GENESEO, N.Y. - Four teams found themselves remaining in the battle for the SUNYAC championship title Saturday morning. Due to weather delay on Friday a full game and partial game would start the day out followed by two more scheduled games.
The first game was the matchup between Geneseo and Oneonta which was rescheduled after heavy rain came rolling through on Friday afternoon. This game started at 9 a.m. and was full of action. The Oneonta Red Dragons would be the first on the board in the second inning taking advantage of three Knight errors to score four runs. The Knights got a run back in the third inning and eventually tie the score in the fourth by posting three more runs. Oneonta got ahead in the fifth inning when sophmore Bailey Schwark hit a single to knock in teammate Selena Ruiz. The Geneseo Knights answered with another run in the fifth inning to put them in tie position. Eventually the Knights prevailed in the sixth inning, which would prove to be the last tie that either team scored. Geneseo finished on top 7-5.
In between the first and second games of the day Cortland and Plattsburgh finished their elimaination game that was also postponed due to weather on Friday. They managed to get a majority of the game in on Thursday but it was left off at the bottom of the sixth with two outs, a Cortland runner on second base and a score of 3-1 with Cortland ahead. Plattsburgh quickly tied the game with two runs in the top of the seventh on an RBI single from Dominique Zummo and one-out error on a ball hit by Kelsey Gage. Cortland loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh, but was unable to score throwing the game into extra innings. Cortland's pitcher Sam Van Dorn shut down Plattsburgh in both the eighth and ninth leaving them scoreless. The Red Dragons Andrea Schoomaker led of the bottom of the ninth with an infield single and eventually scored the winning run on an RBI from Skyler Hoyt. This win for the Red Dragons, 4-3, would move them on in the tournament to play Oneonta immediadetly after.
The second full game of the day was the matchup between the Red Dragons of the conference, Oneonta and Cortland. Oneonta was the first on the board in first inning and then scored again in the second, posting a 2-0 lead over Cortland early in the game. Cortland didn't put their first points up until the fourth inning and followed up again in the fifth with one more. In the bottom of the sixth Oneonta's Amanda Sexton drove in Meaghan Raliegh to give Oneonta a 3-2 lead Cortland tied the game once more with a run of their own to go into the seventh inning 3-3. Eventually Cortland prevailed ending the game when Skyler Hoyt hit a triple to drive in teammate Kelly O'Gorman winning the game 4-3. This game knocked Oneonta out of the tournament and moved Cortland on to play Geneseo.
The third and final game of the day was the matchup between the Cortland Red Dragons and the Geneseo Knights. Geneseo went into the game with no loses, needing this win to take it all, while Cortland had one loss, giving them hope for a Sunday game. Cortland was the first on the board posting two runs in the second inning. The Knights replied early in the fourth inning posting their own matching two runs. In the bottom of the seventh inning the Red Dragons took a 4-2 lead. This lead was short lived when Geneseo used a one-out Abbey Whitney pinch-hit single, an error, an Alyssa Persich sac fly and a Maddison Tucker RBI single to tie the game 4-4. Red Dragons Andrea Schoonmaker led the top of the ninth with a bunt single and then an error on a O'Gorman bunt would bring Schoomaker home. The Knights were unable to anser to that run giving the Red Dragons a 5-4 win and another chance at the SUNYAC title.
Geneseo and Cortland will play Sunday at 12 p.m. in Geneseo for the SUNYAC Title.
