CORTLAND, N.Y. – FredoniaState bats fell silent Friday on the second day of the SUNYAC Tournament at SUNY Cortland.
The Blue Devils (26-9) were eliminated by Plattsburgh, 1-0, after losing to BuffaloState, 7-0, earlier in the day.
The offense never fired against BuffaloState. The Blue Devils collected only two hits, a double by Tina Schwartzmeyer and a single by Rachel Burrows, off winning pitcher Aleesha Williams.
BuffaloState scored single runs in the the third and fifth inning off Danielle Shelp (6-2). The Bengals then put the game away with five unearned runs in the sixth off Raela Wiley. It turned out to be Wiley's final appearance of the season. She gave up no earned runs in 29 1/3 innings.
The season-ending loss to Plattsburgh was decided on one swing of the bat – a solo homer by Allison Smiddy in the last of the sixth inning. It was the only blemish on the record of Ashley LaPorta (5-3), who walked four and gave up four hits but made big pitches when she needed them.
The Blue Devils spaced seven hits off winning pitcher Ashley Marshall, including a double and two singles by Katie Bartkowiak, giving her a school-record 55 for the season.
Anne Wasik added a double and an infield single, the latter coming with two outs and Julie Arnold on second base after Arnold doubled. The game – and second – ended with runners on the corners.
The Blue Devils were making their first SUNYAC Tournament appearance in seven years. Along the way, they tied the school record for wins in a season (26) and set new team records for fewest losses (9), batting average (.304), and earned run average (2.10).
