After falling short in both games against Cortland the day before, Buffalo State softball (15-12, 8-4 SUNYAC) found two wins against Nazareth University (4-22, 2-6 SUNYAC) as the Bengals offense turned it up and took advantage of errors from the Golden Flyers.
Head coach Jamie Brown believes the team was not as timid playing against a conference rival and they played clean defense, and she hopes the team keeps improving with each game they play.
Game 1, W 5-1
The first game was scoreless until the third inning when Nazareth broke the drought to lead 1-0. The Bengals responded in the bottom of the fourth with four runs of their own to take the advantage.
A flyball from Kaitlyn Schnitzer was dropped by the Golden Flyers to load the bases, which allowed Mya Hurley and Caitlyn Parsons to score on a single from Erin Paolilli. A triple from Grace Albano scored Paolilli and Schnitzer to give Buff State a 4-1 lead.
Kenzie Scott scored in the bottom of the fifth on a single from Hurley after she stole second to put herself in scoring position. The Bengals led 5-1 which ended up the final score as both teams’ offense got quiet in the last couple of innings.
Paolilli was 1-of-3 at the plate with two RBIs and one scored run while Albano was 2-of-3 with two RBIs. Hurley also added an RBI, a hit and a scored run.
The Bengals had six hits while Nazareth had four. Schnitzer allowed one earned run to score in the circle as well as one strikeout and two walks.
Game 2, W 12-4
Nazareth scored four quick runs in the first inning but couldn’t hold on as Buffalo State prevailed and took advantage of their opponents mistakes to march onto their fourth mercy rule win this season.
The Golden Eagles led 4-0 until the third when the Bengals took control of the match as they scored 10 runs in a single inning. Nine runs came with two outs and Buff State went through their lineup more than once. Nazareth’s errors were costly as each run was unearned, meaning they only scored because of errors by the opposing team.
“We kept pushing and made them pay for their mistakes,” Brown said. “But still, we need to hit the ball more solidly than we did.”
Cam O’Hara got on base due to an error from third base, and then scored on a single from Sarah Congelosi as she advanced to second on the throw. Parsons ripped a double to score Congelosi and Scott, who got on base with a single.
Katie Pyszczek got on base from a fielding error and pushed Parsons to third before a single from Paolilli scored Parsons. A double from O’Hara scored Pyszczek and Paolilli, which was followed by a single from Pezdek to score Sam Schafer, who got on base after hitting a single to the shortstop.
Pezdek got to second on a wild pitch and Congelosi was walked before O’Hara scored again when Scott reached first on an error. Hurley reached first on an error from third base and then advanced to second to score Pezdek and Congelosi, which gave BSU a 10-4 advantage.
The Bengals scored a couple in the bottom of the fifth to send the Golden Eagles back home with a pair of losses.
Hurley singled up the middle and moved to second on the throw to score Congelosi, who got on base with a double, and moved Scott to third base. A groundout from Parsons scored Scott, who was pinch running for Emma Hooftallen, and ended the game.
Pezdek pitched three innings and had two strikeouts along with two walks, four runs and four hits. Madison Lucas came in for the last two innings and had one strikeout and two walks. She didn’t allow any hits or runs.
Congelosi was 2-of-3 in the box with three runs scored, an RBI and a walk. O’Hara was 1-of-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs while Pezdek was 1-of-2 with one run and one RBI, and Parsons had three RBIs.
“Offensive numbers are improving but need to make adjustments at-bat to at-bat,” Brown said. “They just need to do what we work on and have confidence in that.”
The Bengals return to action on Wednesday for a doubleheader against Penn State Behrend in Erie, PA. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.
