Geneseo softball wins nine games straight
After a rocky start to the season, Geneseo’s softball team has turned things around and has gone on a long win streak (Photo courtesy of geneseoknights.com).
The Geneseo softball team has been on a hot streak for over a week now, winning nine consecutive games. Their run began in their second game of a doubleheader against Oswego on Monday, Apr. 15, and progressed to nine games with a sweep against Potsdam on Saturday, Apr. 27.
The Knights traveled to Potsdam to face the Bears, who were 11-15 overall on the season and 4-10 in conference play. Geneseo was fresh off a dominant win against Plattsburgh and carried momentum into its Potsdam matchup.
Geneseo put up a run in the first inning as freshman utility player Ray Schumacher singled to right, allowing junior outfielder Tori Guary to cross the plate. Schumacher’s runs-batted-in (RBI) marks their 30th of the season and their twenty-ninth hit.
In the second inning, Geneseo tallied a whopping seven runs while keeping Potsdam at zero. Guary doubled to left-center, allowing two runs to score and a runner to advance to third, increasing the lead to 3-0. Senior infielder Rebecca Schwartz tripled down the opposite field line, earning two RBIs. Schwartz quickly scored on a wild pitch, widening the gap to six. Graduate student infielder Audrey Minton then doubled to right-center, scoring one. To round out the inning, junior outfielder Tara Brochu doubled to left and scored Minton. After the second inning, the Knights led 8-0.
In the top of the third, sophomore infielder Brooke Fraas grounded out to third base and scored Guary an unearned run. Geneseo scored again in the fourth as senior catcher Lauren Gulick grounded out but managed to score Brochu. Potsdam scored their first and only run in the fourth after a single up the middle. While up 10-1, Fraas flew out to centerfield, scoring Guary again. Potsdam was unable to score in the fifth, giving Geneseo the early 11-1 win.
The Knights showed up again in the day's second game with an even better performance. Geneseo scored six runs in the first inning, courtesy of Fraas, Minton, sophomore infielder Bella Nadzan, and sophomore outfielder Emily Sylvanus. They added one more in the second frame and three in the third, pushing the lead to 10-0.
The fourth inning showed seven runs for Geneseo, with the first coming from graduate student infield-outfielder combination Oliva Fazio. Fazio singled to left-center, advancing a runner to second and scoring Minton. Freshman utility player Amanda Audia recorded a walk and advanced a runner across the plate. Schwartz and Fraas tallied RBI hits, stretching Geneseo’s lead to 15-0. Freshmen Lauren Bieniek and Olivia Coons also earned RBIs in the fourth, giving the Knights a 17-0 lead.
In the fifth, sophomore pitcher Mikayla Bucci grounded out, scoring Fazio and recording Geneseo’s last run of the game, their 18th. Freshman pitcher Gabriella Petroski pitched the entire game and allowed only six hits and zero runs in their 18-0 win to complete the sweep against Potsdam.
After the weekend sweep, Geneseo crossed over the .500 win percentage, advancing to 17-15 overall. In conference play, the Knights’ record increased to 10-2, with their two SUNYAC losses coming from road games against Oswego and Cortland.