Reading, Pa.:  To say that the SUNY Cobleskill softball team closed their Pennsylvania road trip on Sunday by pushing the five-time defending North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) and current league leading Penn State Berks Nittany Lions to the brink on latter's home turf by would be very accurate. The Nittany Lions out clawed the Fighting Tigers by scores of 3-1 and 3-2 to earn the doubleheader sweep. With the defeats the Fighting Tigers are now 6-10 overall on the season including a 3-3 record in conference play while the Nittany Lions improve to 17-8 overall with a 7-0 mark in NEAC action.

In the opener, the Fighting Tigers gave the defending league champs all they could handle in a 3-1 loss. But four Cobleskill errors and a 13 strikeout effort by Nittany Lion senior hurler Jess Rozick, Bensalm, Pa., Bucks County Technical High School, proved to be just enough of an edge to give the home team the victory.
Once again Cobleskill sophomore left hander Rachel Hall, Greenwich, N.Y., Greenwich High School, turned in stellar mound work for the Orange & Black allowing only two earned runs in six innings pitched allowing eight hits while striking out two and walking no one.

The Fighting Tigers scored their lone run in the top of the fourth inning when junior second baseman Quesha Sells, Cobleskill, N.Y., Cobleskill-Richmondville High School, reached on an error advance to third on an outfield to first putout then scored when sophomore third baseman Edyliese Aquino, Stamford, Conn., Westhill High School, singled her home.
In the second game, the teams were locked in a scoreless battle heading into the bottom of the fifth inning when the Nittany Lions struck for a pair of runs to give them a 2-0 lead over the visitors from New York.

But unlike in past seasons, the Fighting Tigers fought back to tie when freshman designated hitter Victoria Decker, Stone Ridge, N.Y.,  Rondout Valley High School, ripped a lead-off single to open the sixth inning. Sophomore Brooke Marciniak, Wakefield, R.I., South Kingstown High School, ran for Decker and with one out advanced to second when the Nittany Lions misplayed a bunt attempt by freshman shortstop Megan Gilligan, East Chatham, N.Y., Chatham High School, putting runners on first and second with one out. Freshman center fielder Jillian Nitchman, Ballston Spa, N.Y., Ballston Spa High School, then singled advancing the runners and when Berks misplayed a relay throw Marciniak and Gilligan came around to score and tie the game at 2-2 with Nitchman standing on third.

However that was as close as Cobleskill would get as Nitchman would be thrown out after a run down on a contact play on a ball hit by second baseman Quesha Sells, who would make it to second base in the action, only to be stranded there when first baseman Rachel Hall grounded out short to first to end the inning.

After a scoreless bottom of the sixth and top of the seventh the Nittany Lions capitalized on a pair of Fighting Tiger errors in the bottom of the seventh to take the win.
Freshman pitcher Arielle Kranbuhl, Boonville, N.Y., Adirondack High School, took the loss despite allowing only two earned runs in 61/3 innings of work.

Cobleskill will return to action on Tuesday April 9^th when they travel 1/3 innings of work scattering seven hits on the afternoon.   to Albany, N.Y. for a non-conference doubleheader meeting with the Gators of Sage College beginning at 3:00 p.m.