Softball | 5/3/2019 6:22:00 PM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
Reading, Pa.: The SUNY Cobleskill women's softball team advanced to day two of the 2019 North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Championship Tournament hosted by Penn State Berks at the Nittany Lions Hintz Athletic Field on Friday. The third seeded Fighting Tiger opened the tournament with a 7-1 loss to the third seeded Wildcats of Penn College then came back in the double elimination tournament's first elimination game to post a comeback victory over the fourth seeded Keuka College Wolves by a 2-1 margin. With the split, the Fighting Tigers move to 15-15 overall for the season and record Cobleskill's first win in the NEAC Championship Tournament ending the program's eight-game losing streak at the event.

In Cobleskill's opening game versus the Wildcats; Penn College jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the second inning from which they never looked back as sophomore pitcher Morgan Heritage, New Castle, Del., Hodgson Vocational High School, held the Orange & Black to one unearned run on five hits striking out eight and walking no one to give Penn the win.

For the Fighting Tigers offensively, freshman center fielder Jillian Nitchman, Ballston Spa, N.Y., Ballston Spa High School, was 2-for-3 with a double, a triple and a RBI and junior left fielder Quesha Sells, Cobleskill, N.Y., Cobleskill-Richmondville High School, went 1-for-3 with a run scored. 

Faced with elimination, Fighting Tiger Head Coach Liz Slupinski gambled and returned sophomore Rachel Hall, Greenwich, N.Y., Greenwich High School, to the mound for the second game. Hall had started and worked five innings in the team's opening game loss to Penn College to open the tournament but the Cobleskill ace was up to the challenge allowing the hard hitting Wolves only one run on three hits while striking out two and walking none to record the win.

However despite Hall's efforts on the mound, the Orange & Black still trailed 1-0 going into the bottom of the sixth inning after the Wolves scored a run in the top half of the frame to take the lead.

After freshman shortstop Alyssa Villielm, Rifton, N.Y., Kingston High School, and second baseman Quesha Sells both singled to open the inning; the center fielder Jillian Nitchman hit into a fielder's choice, forcing Villielm at third base. A Keuka wild pitch then advanced Sells and Nitchman to second and third respectively setting the stage for pitcher Rachel Hall who promptly laced a single back up the middle to score both runs and give Cobleskill a 2-1 advantage heading into the seventh inning.

Going into the final inning the Wolves put the tying run on base to open the action; when senior left fielder Jenessa Vaadi, Munnsville, N.Y., South Jefferson High School, reached on an error , advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt, then went to third on a groundout to the pitcher. With two outs and a runner on third Keuka sophomore second baseman Haley Gorges, Corning, N.Y., Corning-Painted Post High School, laced a line drive towards the hole between first and second base which Cobleskill sophomore first baseman Edyliese Aquino, Stamford, Conn., Westhill High School, got a glove on deflecting it to second baseman Quesha Sells who fielded the deflection and flipped to Aquino to narrowly beat the runner and give the Fighting Tigers the elimination game victory.

Rachel Hall was not only the team's hero on the mound but also at the plate going 2-for-3 driving in both of Cobleskill's runs which provided the margin of victory.  

The Fighting Tigers will return to action on Saturday March 5^th when they once again face the tournament's number two seeded Wildcats of Penn College this time in a semi-final elimination game beginning at 11:00 a.m. A live-stat feed of the game will be provided through the tournament website at   https://psuberksathletics.com/sports/2019/5/1/SB_0429150137.aspx.