Glassboro, NJ -- The State University of New York at New Paltz opened up its 2020 campaign against Rowan University with a grueling 8 run loss in the first game and a 2-2 draw in the second Saturday.  

The Hawks struggled at the plate against the Profs senior pitcher Lauren Shannon, managing only one hit in six innings of play.  This hit came from sophomore Katie Quagliana in the third inning, but the team left her stranded, unable to bring in the run.

Quagliana, coming off an excellent season with a 13-4 record on the mound and a batting average of .307 as a freshman, struggled early in New Jersey.  Rowan rallied for two runs in the first inning and three more in the second, putting SUNY New Paltz in a tough spot. The Hawks couldn't get their bats going, as Rowan went on to win the game 8-0, handing SUNY New Paltz its first loss of the season.  

"In our first game we definitely had some normal jitters that happen in your first game out in the year and Rowan who is an excellent program took advantage of that," said Hawks coach Krysti Maronski.

SUNY New Paltz turned things around quickly in game two with junior outfield/utility Nina Simms reaching first on an error by the third baseman. She was later driven in off the bat of junior infield/utility Ashley Puig with double, recording the only extra base hit of the day for her team.

"We came out much more aggressive at the plate attacking pitches early in the count and made good adjustments," said Hawks senior shortstop Taylor LaFrance. "We also cleaned up our defense and felt much more confident in ourselves and each other after getting the first game jitters out."  

Junior pitcher Emily Fox  threw a very solid game for SUNY New Paltz, giving up only two hits, resulting in two runs for Rowan.

"Defensively we were much more sound and got great pitching from Emily," said Maronski after game two.

The Hawks also had two hits for two runs, with the second run scored in the fourth inning when freshman infield Madison Maggs reached on an error and managed to score from first without a single recorded hit in the inning. Rowan committed five errors in game two and SUNY New Paltz capitalized.

It was a relatively quiet game for the Hawks at the plate again in game two , with the only two hits coming from Puig in the first (double) and Nina Simms in the fifth (single).

The game ended abruptly in the fifth when the umpire was struck in the head with a foul ball and felt concussion symptoms.

The final score of the game was Hawks 2, Profs 2, bringing SUNY New Paltz to an 0-1-1 record moving forward. It  will take to the diamond again tomorrow against Rutgers-Camden for two games, the first at noon and the second at 2 p.m.