The Geneseo women’s softball team went 3-1 on Friday April 20 and Sunday April 22, improving to 8-6 in SUNYAC and 15-17 overall.
In the first game against SUNY New Paltz on April 20, senior KK Schaus went 3-3 to drive the Knights to a 5-0 victory.
Junior Mary Bostwick pitched a full game, allowing five hits and striking out one.
“[Bostwick] is stepping it up; that’s what we needed from her,” head coach Tony Ciccarello said. “We talked about it early. She’s pitching complete games and coming back in the second game in conference games if needed – that’s our plan going in.”
In the nightcap against the Hawks, Geneseo fell in nine innings, losing 5-3.
Sophomore Elise Porreca and senior Molly Walsh went 3-3 and 2-4, respectively, to lead the offense. Porreca also contributed a run, while Walsh tallied a RBI.
Bostwick took the loss, allowing two unearned runs on six hits, walking one and striking out three. In the first 3 2/3 innings, junior Katie Gallagher allowed three unearned runs, scattered three hits, walked two and struck out four.
On April 22, the Knights swept SUNY Oneonta, 5-1, 6-3. In the first game, the duo of Porreca and Walsh fueled the offense again, going 2-2 and 2-3, respectively.
“[That’s the] middle bottom of the order. They’re coming through too,” Ciccarello said. “Different people step up at different times. We aren’t a team of stars. We are a true team.”
In the second game, sophomore Sam Trapasso’s and Schaus’ clutch hits kept the Knights in the tight game.
In the fifth inning, Trapasso hit a two-out, two-run homer to begin the comeback for Geneseo.
“I knew the kid was going to put it in and I know [Trapasso] can get a hold of one,” Ciccarello said.
In the following inning, Schaus’ two-out, two-run double continued the offense for the Knights. Geneseo’s total of five runs in the fifth and sixth innings proved to be too much for the Red Dragons.
Looking ahead, the Knights host Buffalo State College and SUNY Fredonia on April 27 and 28, respectively, for the final games of SUNYAC play before the championship tournament.
“As far as SUNYACs we’re working for the best seed,” Ciccarello said. “We’re looking to not be two and done … [We’re going to] take one game at a time.”
Against the Blue Devils, the team will honor the three Geneseo graduating seniors, Schaus, Walsh and Kelsey Ogden. Ciccarello said he hopes to recognize the seven Fredonia seniors including his daughter Gabrielle Ciccarello.
“It’s always a sad day. It’s a little sadder for me because my [daughter will] be on the other sideline, and she’s a senior … [This is] once in a lifetime … I missed most of her career – high school and college,” he said.
Ciccarello said he’ll miss the Geneseo graduating class of 2012, especially because of “all of the joking [they] do. They supported me … They all bought into my philosophy.”