The State University of New York at New Paltz 2021 softball season, marred because of COVID-19, was a tough one for the Hawks, as they battled their way to a 6-10 record.
 
Through an up-and-down campaign that saw the cancellation of five conference games, including the final four games of the season, SUNY New Paltz finally started to flex its potential toward the end of the season. The Hawks stumbled out of the gate, however, losing their first two games to SUNY Cortland, 14-1 and 12-4. Despite a 4-1 win over Plattsburgh in their next contest, they would lose six consecutive games, which included two 5-inning affairs. All in all, they mustered two wins over their first 10 contests, with a 5-3 win versus Oneonta April 20 accounting for their second victory.
 
Whether it was a need to just find a groove or the COVID interruption that started the year with two postponed games against SUNY Cobleskill, SUNY New Paltz started to get going as the season wore on, winning four of its last six games before the remainder of the season was cancelled May 1. After an April 24 loss to Rensselaer Polytechnic 3-0, the Hawks defeated the Red Hawks in a rematch 2-0. They then went on to split a double header against Oswego, winning the first game 9-3 and losing the next 6-2, before dominating the Plattsburgh Cardinals in back-to-back games 7-0 and 7-1. Their remaining double-headers versus Potsdam and the Oneonta Red Dragons were cancelled due to COVID-related issues and rain, respectively.     
 
Junior pitcher Katie Quagliana led SUNY New Paltz in batting average, with a .480 average in 25 at-bats. She also registered a .680 slugging percentage and was tied for third on the team in RBI with six. Quagliana also pitched two complete games, the 5-3 win over the Red Dragons where she allowed two earned runs and struck out three, as well as the 2-0 win over the Red Hawks where she struck out six and allowed just three hits. The junior tallied 20 strikeouts in her nine starts.
 
Tied for the team lead in hits were sophomore outfielder Sydney Bonewit and senior outfielder Nina Simms, who both totaled 16 on the season, in 47 and 46 at-bats, respectively. The two also earned their first All-SUNYAC First-Team selections. Simms led the team in RBI with 11 and finished with a batting average of .348. Bonewit, who finished the year with a .340 average, and junior outfielder Carol Ann Campsey were the only Hawks to start all 16 games.  
 
SUNY New Paltz finished second-to-last in both hits and runs, however, on the positive side, allowed the third fewest home runs in the conference (4), and were middle of the pack in ERA, finishing with 3.40, good for sixth in the conference. The Hawks will return 15 players in 2022 from this year's roster.



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