Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 New Paltz, N.Y. – Through rainy weather and muddy field conditions, the State University of New York at New Paltz softball team swept its first SUNYAC and home series of the season against SUNY Fredonia on Friday afternoon. The Hawks won the first game by a score of 6-1 before defeating the Blue Devils 9-5 in the second game.
 
"It was really big to sweep the first conference series of the season," said Hawks senior pitcher Lauren Cappello. "It gives us some momentum going into tomorrow. Fredonia is a great team and even though we had some downfalls in a few innings, we were able to get out of it and come back."
 
SUNY New Paltz now holds a record of 9-9 and will next face Buffalo State tomorrow with the first game scheduled for 12 p.m. on Mary Gray Deane Field. The Bengals enter the matchup with a record of 3-10 after splitting their SUNYAC series against SUNY Oneonta on Friday afternoon.
 
"As long as we do our job on defense, I know our bats will come through," Hawks coach Samantha Miller said. "Our pitching was good overall today. We're going to face good teams that can put the bat on the ball, and thankfully our pitchers can match up with those teams."
 
Game 1: New Paltz 6, Fredonia 1
 
The Blue Devils scored their lone run of the game in the second inning and held the Hawks' offense in check through the first three innings.
 
With one out in the bottom of the fourth inning, Cappello walked and sophomore utility player Alyssa Pfitscher singled to put runners on first and second. Sophomore third baseman Taylor Fischer followed with a single up the middle and Cappello scored on a throwing error by the center fielder.
 
Sophomore outfielder Julia DiSpigna followed with a sacrifice fly to bring home Pfitscher and give the Hawks a 2-1 lead. Freshman utility player Katie Conrad tacked on another run with an RBI double to left field to drive in Fischer.
 
SUNY New Paltz freshman utility player Nina Simms scored on a wild pitch in the fifth inning and a Fredonia passed ball and sacrifice fly from junior second baseman Shannon Fee in the sixth inning gave the Hawks plenty of insurance runs to hold on for the win.
 
Cappello tossed a complete game in the circle, surrendering just one run on six hits while striking out two to record her fifth win of the season.
 
All but one starter in the SUNY New Paltz lineup recorded a hit in the victory. Conrad had the lone multi-hit performance, going 3-for-4 with one double and one RBI.
 
"Winning our first conference game of the season is definitely a confidence boost," Conrad said. "We were ready for the rain and [Fredonia] was not and we took advantage of that."
 
Game 2: New Paltz 9, Fredonia 5
 
The Blue Devils struck first again in the second game, notching one run before the Hawks came to bat. SUNY New Paltz responded with two runs in the bottom of the first inning, both coming from an RBI double by Cappello.
 
Fredonia tied the game in the third inning, took the lead in the fourth inning and tacked on one more run in the fifth inning to take a 4-2 lead.
 
In the bottom of the fifth inning with runners on first and second, Hawks freshman pitcher Emily Fox slammed a double to left field to drive in two runs and tie the game. DiSpigna and Conrad followed with back-to-back doubles to drive in two more runs and senior outfielder Taylor Leonette extended the Hawks' lead to 7-4 with an RBI single.
 
The Blue Devils brought the tying run to the plate after two-consecutive singles to start the top of the sixth. Despite logging seven innings earlier in the day, Cappello was brought in to stop Fredonia's rally and did just that. She allowed just one run on an RBI groundout before getting the go-ahead run, freshman shortstop Makenzie Keeler, rung up on a called strike three to end the inning and strand runners on first and third.
 
"Lauren is used to being on the mound for every inning in every game," Miller said. "It was huge for us when she came in and shutdown that rally."

However, SUNY New Paltz did not let up on offense, loading the bases with no outs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Fox drew a bases loaded walk to drive in a run and Fischer scored on an error by Keeler to give the Hawks a 9-5 lead. Cappello pitched a perfect seventh inning to secure the victory and series sweep.
 
Cappello earned the save by tossing two scoreless innings and letting up just one hit while punching out one. She also had a strong day at the plate, going 3-for-3 with one double, two RBIs and one run scored.
 
Conrad had another multi-hit performance, going 2-for-4 with two doubles, one RBI and two runs scored. Leonette and Fischer also recorded two hits each, while Fox went 1-for3 with one double, a team-high three RBIs and one run scored.
 
Fox started the game in the circle, pitching two and one-third innings and gave up one earned run on four hits. Pfitscher earned the win after coming in for relief and tossing two and two-thirds innings, surrendering two runs and scattering seven hits to go along with one strikeout.
 
"We've been working on stopping any bleeding when it happens and coming back when the other team gets ahead," Cappello said. "We've been doing a good job of keeping our momentum in the right place. Even though it dipped a few times today, we brought it right back and that's why we won."

To watch the Hawks take on Buffalo State live Saturday follow @newpaltzhawks on Facebook, and for video highlights, photos, recaps and more be sure to follow @nphawks on Twitter and @newpaltzhawks on Instagram.