The Geneseo women’s softball team returned from the North Country 5-5, after splitting with SUNY Plattsburgh and sweeping SUNY Potsdam on April 13 and 14, respectively.
Against the Plattsburgh Cardinals, Geneseo fell 5-4 in the first game despite the early lead in the first inning. Senior Kelsey Ogden led the Geneseo offense with three hits and two runs.
“[Ogden] started things off right away for us,” head coach Tony Ciccarello said. “The first inning was huge. We scored two runs … and that’s what you need to do, … put them in some conflict.”
Plattsburgh chipped away, responding with a run in the first, another in the third and two in the bottom of the seventh to earn the win.
In the nightcap, Geneseo pounded Plattsburgh pitcher junior Ashley Marshall in an 8-1 victory.
Junior Jess Steubing went 3-4 with an RBI before injuring herself in the first contest against Potsdam the following day.
“Unfortunately [Steubing] might be done for the year,” Ciccarello said. Running to first in her first at bat against Potsdam, “she hit first and hit the ground. Her ankle is not in good shape,” Ciccarello said.
Sophomore Sam Trapasso and junior Stef Rosenberg each went 2-4 with an RBI and contributed a total of three runs.
“[Trapasso’s] coming through [and] that’s what I expect from [her],” Ciccarello said. “[She’s] hitting .413 with an on-base percentage of .471 and .683 slugging. That’s pretty big.”
“We had a disappointing loss and they had the courage to battle and they battled and they really proved they were the better game,” Ciccarello said. “It kind of carried it over to the next day [at Potsdam].”
Against the Potsdam Bears on April 14, junior Mary Bostwick allowed six hits and one unearned run with four strikeouts to claim the win 5-3.
“That was big for [Bostwick] too,” Ciccarello said. “She was already upset with herself that [she] tried to walk a kid [against Plattsburgh] and got it too close. She had that determination …That was a good growing process for her.”
In the second game, junior Katie Gallagher threw a four-hit shutout with eight strikeouts as the Knights prevailed 6-0. Junior Jane LePage as well as senior KK Schaus supported the offense by going 2-4 and earning one run each.
On the weekend, Ciccarello said, “My goal was leaving at worst we go 3-1. 4-0 would be good. We really should have been 4-0; [however], I’m really happy with what we accomplished considering what happened during the week … That was a good way to rebound.”
The Knights will host New Paltz on Friday April 20. On Saturday April 21 against Oneonta, Geneseo will hold the annual Strike Out Cancer game. This year, the Knights are honoring Buffalo State College softball coach Sandy Hollander as well as LePage’s family. The proceeds will go toward the Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester.
Editor’s Note:
On Wednesday April 18, the Knights split with Union College, dropping the first game, 6-5 and winning the nightcap, 11-4.
Senior KK Schaus went 2-4 with a two-run homer, two RBI and one run in the loss.
In the second game, freshman Ashley Fillmore led the offense, going 3-3, two runs and a RBI. Geneseo moves to 12-16 on the season.