CORTLAND, N.Y.– The SUNY Geneseo softball team took a 3-0 lead after three innings, but top-seeded Cortland scored two in the fourth and five in the fifth to win 5-4 in the SUNYAC tournament. First-year Emily Martin and seniors Ashley Fillmore and Sami Brown each had two hits for the Knights, who had their six-game winning streak snapped. Both teams now have one loss in the tournament and will play a single game tomorrow for the SUNYAC softball championship.

Geneseo (28-11), the tournament's second seed, got off to a strong start as senior pitcher Corrin Spallone retired the first nine Red Dragons, five on strikeouts. The Knights scored the game's first run in the bottom of the third. Martin led off the inning with a double to center, and advanced to third on junior Jenna Phillips' sacrifice bunt. Junior Cat Krok scored Martin with a double to left center.

Geneseo added another pair of runs in the third. With one out, Brown singled through the left side. Junior Courtney Budynas followed with a single to left center, advancing to second on the throw. With runners on second and third, senior Kayleigh Blersch hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring one. Martin follow with a single through the left side, scoring another to make the score 3-0.

Top-seeded Cortland (34-11), which advanced to this game by eliminating Brockport earlier in the day, closed the gap in the top of the fourth. After the Red Dragons recorded its first hit and baserunner of the game, a two-run home run made the score 3-2. Geneseo had a runner on third with two out in the bottom of the frame, but failed to score.

The Red Dragons took the lead in the top of the fifth, scoring three runs on four hits, including a triple, to take a 5-3 lead. Cortland had a chance to add more, with runners on second and third and only one out, but Spallone retired the final two hitters.

The Knights put the leadoff hitter aboard in the sixth, but couldn't advance her. In the seventh, with one out, Brown got on base with an infield single. Budynas flied out the center, deep enough for Brown to tag and advance to third. An infield error on a grounder by Blersch scored Brown to cut the lead to 5-4 but the tying run was left stranded at first.

Spallone (16-6) allowed five earned runs on seven hits and one walked. She struck out eight.

Geneseo would have captured the championship with a win. The two teams have split games in the tournament, with the Knights winning 8-5 yesterday. The tournament will now be decided by the single game tomorrow, starting at 12:00 p.m.