Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

NEW PALTZ, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz softball program took a big step forward on Saturday in its 2014 home and State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) openers at Mary Gray Deane Field, beating SUNY Cortland for the first time since April 27, 1996. The Hawks won game one, 5-4, before falling, 6-2, in game two.
 
Cortland's head coach Julie Lenhart, who is in her 20th year coaching the Red Dragons, was in just her second year at the helm when Cortland last lost to New Paltz. Since then, the Red Dragons have become a national power under Lenhart's direction, making seven College World Series appearances and finishing as the national runner-up last year.
 
New Paltz moves to 4-8 overall and 1-1 in the SUNYAC. The Hawks host SUNY Oswego tomorrow at 10 a.m. in a SUNYAC doubleheader. Cortland moves to 12-8 overall and 3-1 in the SUNYAC. The Red Dragons meet up with SUNY Oneonta tomorrow afternoon for a 12 p.m. doubleheader.
 
Game 1: New Paltz 5, Cortland 4
 
With the tying run on third base, New Paltz got out of a jam in the top of the seventh to preserve the historic victory.
 
The Red Dragons put runners on first and second with one out in the seventh before the tying run moved to third base on a fielder's choice play that resulted in an out at second base. Cortland then grounded to the shortstop during its next at-bat, and freshman Kiersten Carlomagno (Commack, N.Y./Commack) flipped the ball to junior second baseman Meg Brewer (Bayport, N.Y./Bayport-Blue Point) for the final out of the game.
 
Both teams traded runs in the early goings, with New Paltz striking first in the home half of the first off a Carlomagno sacrifice fly. The Red Dragons tied the score after a throwing error plated a run in the top of the second, but the Hawks answered back in the home half of the inning, as sophomore pitcher Katie Rutcofsky (Plainview, N.Y./Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy) drove in junior right fielder Nicole Angelo (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) with a single up the middle. An RBI triple by senior right fielder Meaghan Kohler allowed Cortland to knot the score once again in the top of the third, but New Paltz took the lead once again in the bottom of the third, with sophomore catcher Jordan Fiore (Mount Sinai, N.Y./Mount Sinai) scoring junior pinch runner Juliette Verso (Commack, N.Y./Commack) with a single up the middle.
 
Two unearned runs came to pass for the Hawks in the bottom of the fifth, as Fiore pushed across senior first baseman Chelsea Kull (Manorville, N.Y./Eastport South Manor) before junior left fielder Noelle Grande (Massapequa Park, N.Y./Massapequa) scored Brewer with a single to left. Those runs would prove as vital insurance, as Cortland scored twice in the sixth and left the bases loaded when the inning ended with a pop up to Brewer.
 
Rutcofsky earned the win in the circle for the Hawks, yielding four runs (three earned) off seven hits, three walks and three hit by pitches while striking out two. Freshman pitcher Alexandrea Flint took the loss, working three innings while permitting three runs off eight hits while striking out one.
 
Kull and Angelo paced the Hawk bats with multiple hits. Kull batted 2-for-2 with a run scored, while Angelo was 2-for-3 with a run scored and a double. Cortland received multi-hit outings from senior first baseman Alicia Hibbard and sophomore designated player Makaylee Dowd.
 
Game 2: Cortland 6, New Paltz 2
 
A 12-hit explosion by the Red Dragons in the nightcap helped them salvage the split, though New Paltz stayed within striking distance for most of the contest.
 
After fouling off four pitches total in her at-bat in the top of the second, junior catcher Devynn Wilder struck a ball over the left-field wall for a three-run home run to give Cortland a 3-0 edge.
 
In the third, Kull countered with a clutch hit of her own, singling through the right side with two outs and driving in two runs to pull New Paltz within one at 3-2. That score would hold until the sixth, when junior pinch hitter Courtney Kadish plated a run off an RBI single to left field. The Red Dragons added insurance in the seventh, scoring two runs off three hits and one error in the inning.
 
Senior pitcher Amber Carozza (Milton, N.Y./Marlboro) was tagged with the loss, allowing six runs off 12 hits and two walks while striking out three. Junior pitcher Sarah Salamone earned the win for Cortland, yielding two runs off three hits, two walks and a hit by pitch while striking out three.
 
Three different Hawks had a hit in the nightcap, while Cortland received multi-hit performances from sophomore left fielder Diane Cork, Kohler and Wilder.