Sophomore pitcher Nicole Schwartz (pictured above) winds up for a pitch against the University of Rochester on Wednesday April 24. Geneseo defeated Rochester in both games of the doubleheader (Udeshi Seneviratne/Photo Editor).
In another SUNYAC weekend, the Knights added two wins over the SUNY Brockport Golden Eagles to bring them to a 25-7 overall record. The Knights continued their winning streak, sweeping both their games against The University of Rochester at home on Wednesday April 24.
The Knights proved too much for the Golden Eagles, scoring 10 in both games. Brockport’s bats were hot, but they were not hot enough to surpass Geneseo’s 10 runs.
In the first game, Geneseo grabbed an early 2-0 lead. The Golden Eagles answered with a run of their own in the second, but the Knights continued to roll and, after four innings, led by a score of 6-3.
The Knights never relinquished the lead past that point and cruised to a 10-6 victory. Senior pitcher Taylor Moore earned her fifth win of the season in the contest.
In game two, the Knights stayed strong while the Golden Eagles fell under the pressure. Junior catcher Hannah Elmer smashed her sixth home run of the season. The Knights held a 4-0 lead after three innings.
Brockport scored three runs in the fourth inning, but it would not be enough to overcome Geneseo’s bats, which earned the Knights a 10-3 victory.
On the team’s mindset moving forward, senior infielder Kylie Papagelos believes the team needs to maintain their current level of play.
“I think it is super important that we win the rest of our league games, just so we can keep our momentum [moving] in the right direction when the SUNYAC tournament starts,” Papagelos said. “As of right now, I believe we are first in the conference ... there is definitely a possibility that we will be able to host [the SUNYAC tournament] again this year if we are able to win the rest of our games. If we were able to host, it would be really nice to have that home-field advantage again.”
When asked what aspects of the team are the strongest, sophomore infielder Melissa Triolo had several areas of note.
“Although our defense is very strong, our offense is definitely what takes us to the next level. At the beginning of the season, our offense was not as explosive as it usually is, and it cost us two losses [during] our first away trip,” Triolo said. “Coming back from that trip, we knew as a team [that] if we wanted to remain a dominant force in the conference, we had to focus on hitting and that is exactly what we did. Since then, our offense has been unstoppable.”
With the support of every player and their college community, Geneseo will look to make a run at a second straight SUNYAC championship this season.
SUNYAC play continues over the coming weekend with two games against the SUNY Plattsburgh Cardinals on Friday April 26 and on Saturday April 27, for Senior Day, when the Knights host SUNY Potsdam.