The big story of softball’s weekend revolves around senior outfielder Danni Napoli. Napoli broke the Geneseo home run record when she sent the ball over the fence for the 19th time in her career.
Napoli hit the home run on Saturday April 6 when the Knights defeated the Buffalo State University Bengals in two consecutive games.
The Knights trailed early on in the first game, but they rallied back to take the lead. Junior pitcher Ashlyn Kersch and junior infielder Abbey Whitney recorded hits in the third inning to give Geneseo a 3-1 advantage.
The Knights’ bats continued to produce throughout the game and hits from senior pitcher Taylor Moore and senior outfielder Alyssa Persich helped Geneseo maintain a lead. Senior pitcher Jasmine Petrishin put in a strong performance in the final innings and the game concluded with a score of 8-6.
Geneseo took control early and, thanks to hits from Persich, Kersch and Napoli, they extended the lead to six after just two innings. The Bengals could not muster enough offense to mount a comeback and Geneseo cruised to a comfortable victory to extend their season win total to 16.
Napoli’s home runs did not stop with the game against Buffalo. Her bat stayed hot and she went on to hit another home run the next day in game two against the SUNY Fredonia Blue Devils. Kersch and junior catcher Hannah Elmer hit home runs against the Blue Devils as well.
The Knights were able to sweep the Blue Devils with scores of 7-4 and 4-0.
In the first game against Fredonia, both teams kept the score tight. After two innings, the game was knotted at one run apiece. The Knights were eventually able to gain control in the fifth inning when they scored four runs and took a 5-1 lead. Napoli lead the fifth inning charge with two RBIs.
Fredonia refused to give in but a home run from Elmer in the seventh inning finally put the Blue Devils away for good in what was a 7-4 Geneseo victory.
Game two against Fredonia ended with a 4-0 shutout win for the Knights. The victory extended Geneseo’s record to 18-6 on the year. Kersch was the star in the second game as she pitched a seven-inning shutout and homered on the other end.
Up next for the Knights, on Thursday April 11 at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., the SUNY Oswego Lakers come to town for more conference play. Following that, on Saturday April 13 at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. the Knights are home again against the SUNY Cortland Red Dragons.