Survival in slugfest leads to Sunday split

Fredonia State won a see-saw extra-inning slugfest, 14-11, in the second game of a doubleheader with Brockport after dropping the opener 4-1 in SUNYAC women's softball Sunday.

Emily Chelius singled in the go-ahead run and Alyssa Piniewski delivered a two-run single to provide the winning margin to break an 11-11 tie after seven innings. The Blue Devils survived after squandering leads of 9-1 and 11-9 as Katie Yudin, the Game 2 starter, returned to the circle in the seventh to pitch in and out of a bases-loaded jam. Yudin earned the pitching win.

The split left the Blue Devils with a 7-7 SUNYAC record, 7-11 overall, and kept them in contention for one of the two West Division playoff berths. With 14 points (two points awarded for each win), the Blue Devils are tied with Geneseo and Brockport for second place, two points behind division leader Buffalo State. Fredonia State closes its conference scheduled when it plays host to Oswego on Wednesday.

The Blue Devils put up crooked numbers in the second, third, and fourth innings. A double by Eva FitzSimmons started a two-run second which included an RBI single by Alyssa Piniewski and a Brockport throwing error. A single by Syd Merkley, another Brockport error for a run, and a two-run homer by FitzSimmons accounted for three runs in the fourth. A four-run fifth included an RBI double by Yudin, an RBI single by Nicole Kumro, and an RBI groundout by Amber Piniewski, plus another Brockport error bringing home the fourth run.

Brockport rallied all the way back with three runs in the fourth and five in the fifth. The Golden Eagles also scored two runs in the last of the seventh after the Blue Devils scored single runs in the sixth and seventh innings to take an11-9 lead. A single by Amber Piniewski, a sacrifice bunt, and an RBI single by Yudin broke a 9-9 tie the sixth. A two-out RBI single by Amber Piniewski to score her twin sister Alyssa who had opened the inning with a single accounted for a single run in the seventh. 

Fredonia State took a 1-0 lead in Game 1 on a solo homer by Nicole Kumro leading off the second inning. Back-to-back singles by Maria Caviris and Eva FitzSimmons and a sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third with one out but the Blue Devils could do no further damage. Brockport scored twice in the last of the third and added two more runs in the fourth to take a 4-1 lead off losing Emily Chelius, The Blue Devils threatened but left two runners stranded in the sixth and left the bases loaded in the seventh.