CONTACT: Adam Sopris, a.sopris@hvcc.edu, 518-629-7898 or 518-416-2137
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Thursday, May 18, 2023

The Hudson Valley Community College softball season came to an end as they Vikings were defeated 2-0 in the best-of-three series in the NJCAA Region 3 Championship Final against top-seeded Corning 4-3 and 8-0, respectively.

The Vikings gave it all they had in the first game of the series as they managed to jump out to a 3-0 utilizing a three-run fourth inning over the defending Region 3 champions. In the fourth, Abby Taylor reached on a fielder's choice, which allowed Gianna Bucciero to advance on the play. Bucciero later scored on an error by the Corning third baseman to put Hudson Valley on the board.

Later in the inning Kaylee LaForest also reached on a fielder's choice, which allowed Taylor to score the second run of the inning on another Corning error and finally, Jody Rogers connected for an RBI single to second base to drive in LaForest. Rogers was named to the NJCAA Region 3 All-Tournament team for her postseason performance.

However, the Corning offense could not be contained as they marched back with a two-run home run by Lexi Wood in the bottom of the fifth inning to cut into the Vikings lead, 3-2. IN the sixth inning, Corning took the lead for good as they put up two runs in the sixth, which was highlighted by Grace Vondracek's RBI single.

Carly Gemmett pitched a great game and was named to the All-Tournament team for her game one performance. Gemmett tossed six innings and gave up four runs on eight hits with five strikeouts.

In game two, the Red Barons scored eight runs on 12 hits to close out the series and advance to the NJCAA National Tournament. The Vikings season came to an end in the Region 3 championship round for the second straight season and are poised to make another run in the 2024 season.