Farmingdale State College’s softball team has won its first eight conference games of the 2025 season, but that’s not unusual.
“I just feel like we’re doing what we should be doing,” Farmingdale coach Liz Pennino said. She has been the team’s head coach since 2021 and has been with the program since 2013.
Pennino has won six Skyline Championships with Farmingdale, with the team’s last coming in 2022.
The Rams had gotten off to a rough start to begin the 2025 season. The team went 3-7 while starting the spring in Florida. Farmingdale was outscored 66 to 36 over that span. Despite the losing record, Pennino said those early-season games are useful for seeing how her team plays.
“We use spring training to really learn the team and learn what we need to work on for when we get back,” she said. “It’s more about just believing in the process.”
Angelina Capuano, a senior and the team’s starting shortstop, said that the team became closer during the trip to Florida as well.
The team flew back north and split a doubleheader in its first two home games of the year. Farmingdale played Yeshiva University on April 4 for its first conference game of the year. The Rams totalled 14 hits and won 12-0.
And the offense didn’t stop there. Farmingdale put together 17 runs in the second half of the doubleheader as well. The Rams have since beaten Mount Saint Vincent, Purchase and SUNY Old Westbury twice each to reach an 8-0 conference record.
“I feel confident and I think that the ball’s rolling now,” Capuano said. “It’s just the momentum that’s going to keep us going.”
I think we take each series one-by-one, and we continue to stay loose and play like we’re supposed to,” Assistant Coach Derek Stanya said.
This success in conference play has built up over the years. Farmingdale won its first 12 Skyline games during the 2024 season. The team finished the year 17-1 in Skyline play.
In 2023, the program dropped its first conference game against St. Joseph’s University. The Rams went on to win 16 of their next 18 Skyline games. The success within the conference has not easily translated over to winning in the postseason.
The Rams are in search of their first Skyline Championship since 2022. Pennino said the team has been focusing on the little things this year, which cost them a shot at the championship the past two years.
“The mentality that we have every day is that our favorite championship is the next one,” Alyssa Cowen, the team’s starting second baseman, said.
Cowern and Capuano are the only two seniors on the team who have been with the program since they were freshmen. The two of them said that bringing a championship culture to the younger players on the team is important for them to continue striving for success.
Farmingdale has 10 conference games remaining, with their last coming on May 4. Manhattenville is the only other program with an undefeated Skyline record so far.
