Geneseo Softball starts Empire 8 Conference games strong

Photo courtesy of Geneseo Knights

After a dominant doubleheader sweep of Houghton University on Friday afternoon, the SUNY Geneseo softball team is riding high with back-to-back wins.

On Apr. 4, 2025, the Geneseo softball team had a doubleheader on a beautiful Friday afternoon, winning both games. The day's first game started with Geneseo pitching against Houghton University’s team. Senior pitcher Kaitlyn Schmitz gave a hard throw right to Houghton’s batter for a single hit down the middle, making it first base. Houghton could not keep up with Geneseo’s pitches, however, as Schmitz was ready for a no-hitter, as she pitched a ground ball right to second base. 

Geneseo was up at bat at the bottom of the second inning, as sophomore catcher and outfielder Lauren Bieniek reached first base on a fielder’s choice and sent junior infielder Brooke Fraas from third to home, unearned. 

At the bottom of the second, Geneseo came out again victorious as junior infielder Gabriella Smith tripled down the right field line. This was followed by junior infielder Bella Nadzan hitting a single up the middle, allowing for a satisfying score from Smith. Nadzan was not done, though, as she made her way to home plate with a double down the third base line from Fraas. 

Geneseo successfully kept Houghton from getting runs with strong pitchers striking out the competition until the top of the fourth. When the bottom of the fifth inning rolled around, the Knights answered Houghton’s one run with five more. With freshman third baseman Molly Griffin at the plate, she singled up the middle, pushing Schumacher and sophomore shortstop Jane Reilly home. 

On a throwing error, Griffin was able to advance from third base to home, giving Geneseo another run, with more yet to come. Senior catcher Tara Brochu got pushed to home base by another throwing error from Houghton. 

Before the ending the bottom of the fifth, junior outfielder Emily Sylvanus singled the ball to the shortstop, allowing Smith to advance to third and eventually home, putting Geneseo at 8-1 before the final inning. 

With a quick end to the first game, Fraas was up to bat at the bottom of the sixth and tripled it to right center, followed by Schmitz, who hit the ball to the infield on a sacrifice fly. Fraas took advantage and scored the final run of game one. 

At the start of game two for Geneseo, they held Houghton at bay defensively, resulting in no runs for their competition. At the bottom of the first, with the Knights at bat, Schumacher singled through the left side of the field, allowing the previous batter, Schmitz, to make it to second base. 

Shortly after, Griffin had another single hit to left center, pushing Schumacher to second and Schmitz to home. After Schumacher’s hard work, she advanced to home after Babich’s single hit up the middle. 

With a tough second inning, the Knights came back in the bottom of the third as Griffin could steal home base from Babich’s single hit to right field. The Knights were on fire in the bottom of the fourth, as senior catcher Haley Coombs and Smith scored off of sophomore second baseman and pitcher Amanda Audia doubled to right center. 

With a quick single hit to left field from Griffin, who made her way to second base, followed by a triple hit to right center from Smith, Griffin got sent home, bringing Geneseo up to 6-0.  Fraas hit a double, allowing Audia to advance to third base, sending both Smith and freshman outfielder Claire Kubiak home, leaving Geneseo with a shutout score of 8-0 to end the day. 

Geneseo’s next game will be away on Wednesday, Apr. 9, with Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). The first game starts at 3:00 PM and the second at 5:00 PM.