ONEONTA, N.Y. - The Cortland softball team improved to 11-1 in SUNYAC play and 15-13 overall with a doubleheader sweep at Oneonta. The Red Dragons won the first game, 18-7, behind a 20-hit attack, and Cortland held off a late rally by the hosts to win the second game, 5-3.
 
Cortland currently sits in second place in the SUNYAC standings with 22 points and is guaranteed a spot in the six-team SUNYAC postseason tournament with six regular-season league games remaining. The Red Dragons will travel to league-leading New Paltz (12-0 SUNYAC; 24 points) on Sunday for a doubleheader that was originally scheduled for Saturday but pushed back a day due to the weather forecast.
 
Cortland 18, Oneonta 7
 
Every starter recorded at least one hit in the opener for Cortland, which reached the 20-hit mark for the first time since May of 2021. Shelby LaMont (Amsterdam) went 4-for-5 with a double, two RBI and two runs, Halle Wright (Ballston Spa) finished 3-for-5 with a double, walk, four RBI and two runs, and Kayla Pendergast (West Hempstead) went 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs. Lainie Ornstein (Yorktown Heights/Yorktown) and Maggie Cummings (Holland Patent) each went 2-for-4 with three runs scored, with one of Cummings' hits a triple. Shannon Scotto (Putnam Valley/Lakeland) finished 2-for-5 with a double, and Laila Smith (Guilderland) and Kaeli McAnally (Islip) each drove in two runs.
 
McKenna Barry (Clifton Park/Shenendehowa) went four innings for the victory. She allowed five runs but left the game with Cortland leading 12-5. Sophia Wahl (Schuylerville) earned a save by finishing out the last three innings. She gave up two runs on three hits.
 
Emily Brown went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI and Ava Thys was 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs for the hosts. Cadence Brennan took the loss in relief after allowing four runs in an inning and two thirds.
 
Oneonta led 3-0 in the bottom of the first on a Brown double and Sophia Mangone two-run single. Cortland answered with five runs in the top of the second, highlighted by a McAnally sac fly and a Wright two-run double. Oneonta knotted the game in the bottom of that inning on a Brown two-run single.
 
Cortland took the lead for good in the third on a McAnally RBI groundout and a Pendergast RBI single. The guests added two in the fourth on Barry's sac fly and LaMont's RBI single, followed by three in the fifth on a Smith two-run double and a wild pitch. An error allowed a Cortland run to score in the sixth, and a five-run seventh featured a LaMont RBI single, a Danielle DeBonis (Burnt Hills/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) two-run single and a Wright two-run single.
 
Cortland 5, Oneonta 3
 
Gianna Endieveri (Glens Falls) blanked Oneonta (15-15, 8-4 SUNYAC) for the first six innings before allowing three runs in the bottom of the seventh. She earned the win to improve to 8-3, allowing eight hits and one walk and striking out five. Molly Farley (Goshen/Chester Academy) entered with a runner on first and no outs and the potential tying run at the plate. She recorded a strikeout, walked a batter, and recorded the final two outs on a flyout and groundout to earn her first save of the season.
 
Cortland scored in the third on a LaMont two-out RBI single and added a run in the fourth on a Wright two-out RBI single. Cortland plated two runs in the fifth on a McAnally run-scoring single and a wild pitch to make it 4-0. The Red Dragons added what proved to be a key insurance run in the seventh. Cummings led off with a walk and went all the way to third on the play on a wild pitch and an error. She scored on a Julz Koch (New City/Clarkstown South) RBI groundout.
 
Oneonta's first two runs in the seventh came on a throwing error during a Sophia Camacho bunt single with two runners on. Camacho then scored on a Kayla Kean RBI single.
 
Wright, LaMont and McAnally each finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and Cummings was 1-for-2 with a walk and two runs for Cortland. Camacho was 2-for-3 and Julia Serena went 2-for-4 for Oneonta. Brown started for Oneonta and gave up five runs, but only one earned, in six and a third innings.