Buffalo State opened its home schedule last weekend by winning three of four SUNYAC games against
Plattsburgh and Potsdam.
The Bengals (8-6, 3-1 SUNYAC) believed that starting their inter-conference schedule on a winning note
would set a tone for the rest of the season.
“They’re both among the top teams in the SUNYAC,” assistant coach Greg Willats said. “We needed to
win these games because our conference is always tight and making the SUNYAC playoffs is obviously
very important to us.”
Senior pitcher Kaylee Lekki agreed.
“(Plattsburgh and Potsdam) are both good teams and they have some good coaching too,” Lekki
said. “We really had to play our best in order to win those games.”
The Bengals opened their weekend with a 9-0 loss to Plattsburgh. The team struggled to create offense,
producing only three hits compared to Plattsburgh’s 14. Sophomore infielder/pitcher Aleesha Williams
and junior outfielder Breanna Fenski each recorded a base hit, while senior infielder Kyrstin Lekki had a
double.
Williams was charged with the loss by giving up four runs (two earned) on nine hits in four innings.
Later that day, Buffalo State bounced back from the defeat by beating Plattsburgh 4-2 in the second
game of the doubleheader. The Bengals’ four runs were scored off of seven hits.
Sophomore infielder Shelly Maggard led the Bengals on offense, going 2-for-3 at the plate with a double,
triple, RBI and a run scored. Freshman Kate Brownell went 1-for-3 at the plate with an RBI and a run
scored, and freshman pitcher Maddie Coneys recorded a complete-game win while allowing just two
runs (one earned).
“We knew coming in, since we beat Plattsburgh twice in the playoffs last year, that they were looking for
revenge,” junior catcher Lindsay Goff said. “That motivated us coming into this game.”
On Saturday, the Bengals defeated Potsdam in the first game of their doubleheader by a score of 5-2.
Potsdam originally had the lead in the game, but committed a combined six errors in the fifth and sixth
innings to allow the Bengals to pull away with the win.
Kyrstin Lekki, Buffalo State’s Athlete of the Week, led the team with two RBIs and was also walked twice.
Fenski and sophomore outfielder Jordan Dudish both finished with a double and a run scored, while
Coneys improved her record to a perfect 5-0 mark. Coneys, the SUNYAC Softball Pitcher of the Week,
ended the day with five strikeouts and allowed just four hits.
With a 2.53 ERA and 19 strikeouts, Coneys has impressed many with the strong start to her collegiate
career, including Willats.
“Maddie’s shown great improvement since the start of the season,” Willats said. “She’s been using her
three pitches well and that’s helped her get off to a solid launch to her career.”
In the second game, Buffalo State scored all of its runs in the third inning as the team coasted to an 11-
0 win. Many players contributed to the team’s scoring output, including Kyrstin Lekki, who went 2-for-
3 with two home runs and five RBIs. Maggard added four RBIs on two hits in four at-bats, including her
first career home run.
Williams was the winning pitcher, allowing only one hit and no walks.
The Bengals will take on RIT on Wednesday and then return home to face Oswego on Friday and
Cortland on Saturday. All three matchups are doubleheaders.
“Those are going to be big matchups for us,” Willats said. “We’ve got to play well against them. They’re
always among the top teams in the league and we have to prove that we can play with them and beat
them.”
Tony Fiorello can be reached at fiorello.record@live.com.