NEW PALTZ, N.Y. - The Cortland softball team needed three wins on Sunday to claim the SUNYAC tournament title and nearly accomplished the feat, defeating Buffalo State, 6-0, and New Paltz, 7-0, before falling to New Paltz in the championship game, 5-0.
 
Cortland finished the tournament with a 4-2 record and is 29-9 overall, its highest win total since 2019. The Red Dragons are not likely to receive an NCAA at-large berth, despite its record, as they were ranked sixth in the most recent regional rankings. NCAA berths will be announced on Monday. New Paltz (35-6) earned the SUNYAC's NCAA automatic berth with the conference title.
 
Three Red Dragons - Tori Reich (Cornwall), Shannon Scotto (Putnam Valley/Lakeland) and Kimberly Westenberg (Massapequa Park/Massapequa) - were named to the SUNYAC All-Tournament Team.

Cortland's win over Buffalo State was the 100th career victory for Red Dragon head coach Molly O'Donnell.
 
Cortland 6, Buffalo State 0
 
Cortland opened Sunday's action with a 6-0 win over Buffalo State (17-20) as Westenberg threw a one-hit shutout. She struck out four and walked one. Westenberg retired the first 10 batters she faced before walking Mya Hurley with one out in the fourth. She took a no-hit bid into the sixth before Grace Albano singled with one out. Westenberg then retired the final five hitters.
 
Cortland scored three runs in the third on a Scotto RBI single, a wild pitch, and a Brooke Scheibe (Sayville) RBI groundout. Gina Meyers (Liverpool) singled in a run and another run scored on an error to make it 5-0 in the fourth. Westenberg doubled and pinch runner Maggie Cummings (Holland Patent) scored on a Julz Koch (New City/Clarkstown South) double for the Red Dragons' final run in the fifth.
 
Reich finished 1-for-3 with two runs scored, Lainie Ornstein (Yorktown Heights/Yorktown) was 1-for-2 with a double and run scored, and Scotto and Koch each were 1-for-3 with an RBI. Halle Wright (Ballston Spa) and Westenberg each went 1-for-2 with a walk.
 
Championship Round: Cortland 7, New Paltz 0
 
McKenna Barry (Clifton Park/Shenendehowa) registered a four-hit shutout as the Red Dragons defeated the top-seeded Hawks to force a winner-take-all championship game. Cortland finished with 12 hits. Meyers was 3-for-4 with a triple and two RBI, Scotto went 2-for-3 with a walk and Westenberg finished 2-for-4 with an RBI.
 
Cortland scored once in the first off New Paltz ace Lindsay Roman when Meyers singled and Scotto singled, with an error on the Scotto hit allowing Meyers to score. In the third, Scotto walked and Westenberg singled, leading New Paltz to pull Roman in anticipation of using her in a possible final game. A passed ball, a Wright RBI groundout and another passed ball gave Cortland a 3-0 lead.

Meyers hit a two-run triple in the fourth to make it 5-0 and Koch singled in a run in the fifth to extend the lead to 6-0. Westenberg drove in the final run in the sixth on a fielder's choice force out.
 
Kelsey O'Brien went 2-for-3 to account for half of the Hawks' hits. Roman allowed three unearned runs in two and a third innings. Sydney Waldon and Alyssa Zangrilli also pitched two and a third innings each.
 
Championship Game: New Paltz 5, Cortland 0
 
Roman, the tournament MVP, led the Hawks to their first-ever SUNYAC title with a four-hit shutout in the championship game. She struck out one and walked two. Barry started for Cortland and allowed four hits and three runs, two earned, in two and a third innings. Westenberg gave up three hits and two unearned runs over the last three and two thirds innings.
 
O'Brien's two-out RBI double gave the hosts a 1-0 lead in the first. Jaycee Filancia walked with the bases loaded in the second to make it 2-0, and in the third O'Brien led off with a double, was bunted to third by Isabella Shepherd and scored on a Rhionna Bianchini single to push the lead to 3-0. A two-out error allowed two runs to score in the fifth.
 
Cortland had runners in scoring position in the second, fifth and sixth innings but couldn't capitalize. The sixth inning threat started with a Meyers single and an error before Roman retired the next three batters on two flyouts sandwiched around a strikeout.
 
O'Brien went 2-for-3 with an RBI and Jillian Shelbourne was 2-for-4 for New Paltz. Ornstein went 2-for-3 and Barry was 1-for-2 with a walk for the Red Dragons.