Softball goes 1-3 this past weekend in multiple close games
It was a busy weekend for Geneseo’s softball team as they played four games resulting in one win and three losses to bring their season record to 8-9-1. The Knights traveled to New Paltz on Friday, Apr. 7 for a doubleheader before making their way to Oneonta the following day to face the Red Dragons in another two-game set.
On Friday, Apr. 7, Geneseo lost their first game 2-1 but made a comeback and won their second matchup 5-2. In their first game, the team suffered a loss but came close as neither team crossed the plate until the bottom of the third. New Paltz successfully scored their first run, but the Knights tied up the game in the top of the seventh inning as sophomore pitcher Kaitlyn Schmitz made her way to home plate while senior infielder Leah VanDerwarker advanced to third after junior infielder Rebecca Schwartz’s sacrifice hit. The Hawks brought in one more run before the end of the game and walked off the field with a close win after eight innings.
The day was salvaged, though, as the Knights won 5-2 with an amazing comeback in the second game which began with a rally in the top of the first. Two singles by VanDerwarker and Schmitz set up a run batted in (RBI) by freshman infielder Brooke Fraas to put Geneseo up 1-0 early.
In the fifth inning, the Knights successfully got five runners on base even though they recorded only two hits. The team scored three runs on RBIs from Schmitz, Fraas, and senior infielder Samantha Martz.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Hawks were able to put a rally together and get a runner across the plate before the Knights put an end to it and came out victorious to end the day with a win.
On Saturday, the Knights faced off against Oneonta and came out with two losses, even though both games were extremely close. Fraas hit her first home run as a Knight this weekend right after an RBI single by Schmitz which brought VanDerwarker home from second and resulted in an early lead from Geneseo.
Oneonta rallied with a walk, triple, and single in the bottom of the second to put them one run behind the Knights. In the bottom of the fourth Oneonta took the lead before keeping Geneseo off the bases for most of the next two innings.
Although the Knights had a runner ready to score in the top of the seventh, they were unable to drive any runs home and suffered a 5-3 loss in the first game of the doubleheader.
The second matchup resulted in yet another close game as the Red Dragons took the lead in the bottom of the first inning. Oneonta opened the game with an RBI double as well as a two-run home run to put them up by three.
In the top of the fifth, the Knights recorded a set of hits with Schwartz tallying an RBI triple to score VanDerwarker right before Schmitz and Fraas each put together their own RBI doubles. Freshman infielder Bella Nadzan then hit to center field and finished off the inning’s rally to put Geneseo ahead by four. The Red Dragons, however, hit two more home runs in the bottom of the inning to retake the lead at 5-4.
The following inning saw the Knights put together their final two runs of the game as Schwartz reached on an error that scored senior infielder Audrey Minton followed by Schmitz hitting to right and driving VanDerwarker in yet again.
In the final inning, Oneonta made a comeback and tied up the game before walking it off with a soft hit through the left side of the field that resulted in a loss for the Knights with a close game of 7-6.
The Knights will be traveling to Fredonia for another doubleheader on Friday, Apr. 14 beginning at 3 p.m., and then to Buffalo on Saturday, Apr. 15 for another two-game matchup.