Fort Myers, FL: The SUNY Cobleskill softball team split its doubleheader at the Gene Cusic Classic on Sunday, rallying for an 8-6 win over La Roche University before falling 11-2 to the University of Wisconsin-Superior.

Game One: SUNY Cobleskill 8, La Roche 6
The SUNY Cobleskill softball team stormed back in the late innings to secure their first win of the season, edging La Roche University 8-6 on Sunday morning at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic in Fort Myers, Florida.

Aliyah Neeser (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake Area) led the offensive charge, going 2-for-3 at the plate with two doubles and a game-high four RBIs. Mackenzie Wendelken (Stuyvesant, N.Y./Ichabod Crane) chipped in a 1-for-3 effort with an RBI, while Kailee DiGiacco (Spencerport, N.Y.), Kylie Rattigan (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Arlington), Hannah Dean (Ripley, ME/Dexter), and Jenna Smyczynski (East Aurora, N.Y.) all contributed runs batted in.

In the circle, Madelynn Orosz (Seymour, Conn./Nonnewaug) battled through a complete-game performance, scattering 13 hits while allowing six runs (four earned) and striking out two to earn the win (1-0).

After falling behind 2-0 in the top of the first, the Fighting Tigers roared to life in the second inning. With the bases loaded, Smyczynski punched a single to right to put Cobleskill on the board. Rattigan followed with a sharp line drive that forced an error, allowing another run to cross. Then, Neeser delivered the big blow—a bases-clearing double to center—to give the Tigers a commanding 5-2 lead.

La Roche chipped away with runs in the third and fourth innings, tightening the game to 5-4. The Redhawks then took advantage of a bases-loaded opportunity in the top of the sixth, plating two runs to briefly claim a 6-5 lead.

Cobleskill wasted no time responding in the bottom half of the inning. Neeser ripped her second double of the game, scoring Wendelken and Rattigan to push the Tigers back in front, 7-6. Dean followed with a line-drive single to left to bring home an insurance run, making it 8-6 heading into the seventh.

Orosz shut the door in the final frame, capping off her complete game with a strikeout to lock in the win.

Game Two: UW-Superior 11, SUNY Cobleskill 2 (5 innings)
In the second game of the day, Cobleskill couldn't keep pace with a red-hot University of Wisconsin-Superior squad, falling 11-2 in a five-inning.
Mackenzie Wendelken stayed hot at the plate, going a perfect 2-for-2 with an RBI double, while Avery Prievo (Camden, N.Y.) and Neeser each added a hit. Prievo also drove in a run and scored once.

First-year pitcher Brielle Dixon (Millville, N.J.) made the start, going 3.1 innings while allowing 11 runs (eight earned) on 13 hits. Jaydaci Chamberlain (Northborough, Mass./Norfolk County Ag.) came on in relief, tossing two-thirds of an inning without surrendering an earned run.

Cobleskill struck first in the opening frame when Wendelken laced an RBI double to center, scoring Prievo for a quick 1-0 lead. But UW-Superior wasted no time responding, plating five runs in the second inning to take control.

The Fighting Tigers showed some fight in the third, as Prievo lifted a sacrifice fly to center to bring home Kailee DiGiacco, trimming the deficit to 5-2. However, the Yellowjackets put the game out of reach in the fourth with a five-run outburst, pushing their lead to 11-2 and enforcing the run rule after five innings.

Up Next:
The Fighting Tigers (1-3) will look to bounce back on Tuesday, March 11, when they take on Geneva College at 9:00 a.m. in another doubleheader at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic.