The Buffalo State softball team dropped all four of its games last week, bringing its
winning streak to an abrupt halt to and making its road to the SUNYAC playoffs that
much longer.
The Bengals currently sit seventh in the SUNYAC standings, one game behind
Oswego for the sixth and final playoff spot. With only four conference games
remaining, Buffalo State knows it needs to finish strong just to make the playoffs.
“I think it was our mentality,” coach Marie Curran said. “You can’t hit when you’re
trying to be perfect, you just have to react and we didn’t react well the last four
games.”
On Sunday, Buffalo State couldn’t get much offense going, and they only scored five
runs in the two games, falling to Brockport 4-1 and 6-4.
In the first game, Brockport pitcher Jaime Berger held Buffalo State to two hits. The
Bengals’ only run came in the second inning when Lindsay Goff singled and Sam
Strapason scored on a throwing error.
Buffalo State committed four errors in the game and two of the Golden Eagles’ four
runs in the game were unearned.
In the second game of the doubleheader, Buffalo State managed to get 11 hits, but
could only plate four runs.
After Brockport jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second inning, the Bengals began
chipping away at the lead. They scored two runs in the second, and one run in each
of the fifth and sixth innings, to cut the deficit to 5-4.
In the seventh, the Golden Eagles extended the lead to 6-4, and the Bengals went
down in order in the bottom half of the inning, cutting the comeback bid short.
“We were pressing because we all knew they were really important games,” junior
outfielder Carly Knight said. “We’re a good hitting team, I don’t know we really just
couldn’t all put it together and get those specific hits that we needed.”
On Monday, Buffalo State hosted Geneseo and looked to bounce back from the
previous day’s defeats.
In the first game, Stephanie Novo hit a home run in the first inning and drove in
another run in the third to help the Bengals take an early 3-1 lead.
The lead remained intact until the top of the sixth inning, when the Knights tied the
game on a two-run, two-out double. In the seventh inning, the Bengals again got
two outs, but Geneseo’s Samantha Brown doubled down the first base line to give
Geneseo the lead, 5-3.
The Bengals got a runner on in the bottom of the seventh, but couldn’t get her past
first base. The Knights took the game 5-3.
“At the plate, we were facing some really good pitching that I think we weren’t
giving enough credit to per se,” senior Breanna Fenski said. “I think we need to talk
to each other more in terms of what the girl is throwing, and how we can help each
other out and be more successful in the next at-bat.”
In the second game of the twin bill, Geneseo’s Samantha Trapasso hit a solo home
run in the top of the first, and that was all the scoring the Knights would need. Katie
Gallagher held the Bengals to no runs on three hits, and Geneseo won the game 3-0.
The loss pushed the Bengals’ losing streak to four games, and they have slipped to
seventh in the SUNYAC.
Buffalo State has eight games remaining, but only four games left in conference play.
Currently on the outside of the playoff picture looking, Buffalo State is in danger of
missing the SUNYAC playoffs for just the second time since 2002.
“If we pull off getting in the tournament – and that’s an if – that momentum is
going to help us tremendously,” Curran said.
The Bengals’ next six games are on the road. They visit Nazareth Wednesday,
Plattsburgh Friday and Potsdam Saturday, before hosting RIT in the regular-season
finale Tuesday.
Chris Dierken can be reached by email at dierken.record@live.com and on Twitter
@cdierken.