Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
Buffalo, NY - Following its 5-2 victory in game one against The College at Brockport, the State University of New York at New Paltz softball held on for a thrilling 8-6 win in 10 innings in the second game to complete the series sweep of the Golden Eagles on Wednesday afternoon. Both games were played at D'Youville College in Buffalo, NY.

The score was tied 3-3 heading into the top of the 10^th inning. SUNY New Paltz batted around and totaled five runs in the inning. Senior outfielder Taylor Leonette broke the tie with a base hit to drive in two runs and sophomore outfielder Julia DiSpigna later tripled to bring home two more. Senior pitcher Lauren Cappello followed with an RBI double to drive in DiSpigna and give her team a comfortable 8-3 lead.

"We talked about how when you're unsuccessful at the plate, you need to change something," Hawks head coach Samantha Miller said. "They took that and rolled with it today. They took advantage of good pitches and became very selective at the plate. We responded well offensively and put up enough runs to give us some breathing room going into the bottom half of the inning."

However, Brockport would not go down without a fight in its half of the inning.

With one out, Golden Eagles senior first baseman Lindsay Wachna tripled to right center to bring in a pair and senior catcher Karleigh Eaton followed with an RBI single to make it an 8-6 game and bring the tying run to the plate in the form of sophomore third baseman Alison Missavage. Missavagge singled to put runners on first and second and bring freshman second baseman Kacie Hubbard, who is hitting .344 this season, to the plate as the potential game-winning run.

Cappello, who was working on her 17^th inning of the day, settled down and got Hubbard and freshman outfielder Penny Lenard, who leads the Golden Eagles with a .542 batting average, to each groundout to second base to secure the victory.

The 10^th inning was not the only jam Cappello managed to get out of. She stranded a runner in scoring position in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings as well, stranding six total from the seventh inning on. She earned her second win of the day by tossing all 10 innings, scattering 15 hits, surrendering just one earned run while striking out four. She now holds a record of 8-6 on the season.

"Lauren is a beast," Miller said. "She is a very competitive senior and expects nothing less than success. She trusted her pitches and let our offense do their thing. She did an amazing job, as always, today and it shows her leadership as a player."

DiSpigna led the offense with a 3-for-5 performance, including one double, one triple, two RBIs and three runs scored. Leonette also drove in two runs, going 2-for-5 with one triple and one run scored. Hawks sophomore first baseman Kelsey Trudden and sophomore second baseman Caroline Alicandri each went 2-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored. SUNY New Paltz had some strong offensive performances in its first game win as well.

Hawks freshman shortstop Katie Conrad led off the game with a triple to right center and Leonette followed with a double to left field to bring her home. Senior outfielder Julia Perhacs then lined a base hit up the middle to drive in Leonette and give her team a 2-0 advantage before Brockport came to bat. The single was Perhacs' 100th career hit as a Hawk.

The Golden Eagles eventually tied the game in the bottom of the fourth inning, but SUNY New Paltz quickly responded in the top of the fifth. With one out and runners on second and third, Cappello mashed a single to right center to bring in both runners and give her team a 4-2 lead. Trudden later drove in another run with an RBI groundout.

DiSpigna went 3-for-3 with one stolen base and one run scored, going 5-for-8 with four runs scored between both games. Perhacs finished 3-for-4 with one double, one RBI and one run scored. 

In the circle, Cappello pitched a complete game and gave up just two runs on six hits while striking out three. She helped her own cause at the plate, going 2-for-4 with three RBIs and one run scored.

"Both wins today were big for us," Miller said. "They gave us our confidence in our abilities back and showed what we can do when pressure is on. We stayed true to our core and had situational hits from everyone in the lineup."

The Hawks (13-14-1, 6-4 SUNYAC) are now tied for first in the conference standings with SUNY Cortland and SUNY Oneonta, as each team holds 12 points. SUNY New Paltz next hosts SUNY Geneseo Friday for a double-header starting at noon, before taking on rival SUNY Oneonta Saturday, also scheduled for 12 p.m. Saturday's contest will serve as the team's Senior Day, as Cappello, Leonette, Perhacs, senior outfielder Danielle Bruno and senior third baseman Alexa Mastando will all be honored prior to the start of the contest.

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