Cobleskill, NY: The SUNY Cobleskill softball team opened their home schedule on Friday by topping Elmira College 6-3 in game one, then battling to an 8-8 tie in game two after the nightcap was called early due to darkness.
 
Game One: Cobleskill 6, Elmira 3
The Fighting Tiger softball team opened their home schedule in impressive fashion on Friday afternoon, picking up a 6-3 victory over Elmira College in the first game of their doubleheader.
 
First-year standout Gabriella Wendelken (Stuyvesant, NY/Ichabod Crane) made her presence felt at the plate, launching her first collegiate home run — a no-doubt shot over the left field fence — on her way to a perfect 2-for-2 day. Wendelken drove in three runs and crossed the plate twice to lead the Cobleskill offense. Brook Irizarry (Florida, NY/S.S. Seward) chipped in two RBIs, while Aliyah Neeser (Forest Lake, Minn/Forest Lake Area) went 1-for-3 with a pair of stolen bases. Mackenzie Wendelken (Stuyvesant, NY/Ichabod Crane) added to the attack with a 1-for-4 performance, collecting a double, an RBI, and a run scored. Kylie Rattigan (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington) also helped set the table with two runs scored.
 
In the circle, Madelynn Orosz (Seymour, CT/Nonnewaug) was steady from start to finish, going the distance to notch her third win of the season and improve to 3-0. Orosz scattered nine hits over seven innings and fanned three batters to lock down the complete-game victory.
 
After a quiet first inning, Cobleskill cracked the scoreboard in the second when Irizarry lifted a sacrifice fly to right field, bringing home Gabby Wendelken. The Tigers tacked on another run in the third as Irizarry came through again, this time with an infield single to shortstop that plated Rattigan.
 
Cobleskill broke the game open in the fourth thanks to the Wendelken sisters. Mackenzie sparked the rally with a double to left field, scoring Kailee DiGiacco (Spencerport, NY) and moving Rattigan over to third. That set the stage for Gabby, who unloaded on the next pitch and sent it sailing over the left field fence for a three-run homer, stretching the Tigers' lead to 6-0.
 
Elmira tried to chip away late, pushing across a run in the sixth and two more in the seventh, but Orosz stayed composed and closed the door to secure the game one win.
 
Game Two: Cobleskill 8, Elmira 8
The SUNY Cobleskill softball team capped off a busy afternoon on Friday by battling to an 8-8 draw with Elmira College in the nightcap of their home doubleheader. The game was called in the bottom of the seventh inning due to darkness, shortly after the Tigers erased a three-run deficit to tie the contest.

Cobleskill was led offensively by s Gabriella Wendelken, who stayed hot at the plate by going 3-for-3 with two doubles, three runs scored, and a RBI. Hannah Dean (Ripley, ME/Dexter) delivered a strong performance, finishing 2-for-2 with three RBIs. Neeser added a 1-for-4 effort with two runs scored, a stolen base, and a RBI, while first-year Laci Prignon (Dryden, NY/Dryden) went 1-for-4 with two RBIs.

Junior pitcher Jaydaci Chamberlain (Northborough, MA/Norfolk County Agricultural) got the start and worked 3.0 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits while striking out one. Wendelken also appeared in the circle, tossing 4.0 innings and allowing four runs on six hits with four strikeouts.

The Tigers built an early lead in the second inning when Samantha Bargren (Wilmington, DE/Brandywine) drove in Wendelken with a single, followed by a Prignon RBI single that plated Neeser to make it 2-0. Elmira responded with two runs in the third inning to tie the game, but Cobleskill answered in the home half as Wendelken doubled home Avery Prievo (Camden, NY). Dean then delivered a two-run single to score both Wendelken sisters, extending the lead to 5-2.

Elmira rallied back with six unanswered runs between the fourth and sixth innings to take an 8-5 advantage. However, with daylight fading, the Tigers staged a dramatic comeback in the bottom of the seventh. Dean singled to score Orosz, followed by a Neeser RBI single to score Gabriella Wendelken. Prignon then reached on an error, allowing Neeser to score and tie the game at 8-8. With two outs and runners on the corners, the umpires called the game due to darkness, resulting in the tie.
 
Up Next:
The Tigers return to action on Wednesday, April 2, as they host Russell Sage College at 3:00 p.m. in a non-conference doubleheader.