Cobleskill, NY: The SUNY Cobleskill softball team opened North Atlantic Conference (NAC) divisional play with authority on Thursday afternoon, sweeping visiting SUNY Delhi in a dominant home doubleheader. The Fighting Tigers took game one 4-0 and followed it up with an 11-1 run-rule win in game two, highlighted by a thunderous grand slam from Aliyah Neeser (Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake Area) in the first inning of the nightcap.
 
Game One: Cobleskill 4, Delhi 0
Cobleskill set the tone early thanks to a gem from first-year right-hander Gabriella Wendelken (Stuyvesant, NY/Ichabod Crane), who mowed down Delhi batters with a career-high 13 strikeouts in a complete-game shutout. Wendelken scattered seven hits over seven innings, improving to 4-3 on the year while keeping the Broncos off balance all afternoon.
 
The offense gave her all the support she needed. Senior Kailee DiGiacco (Spencerport, NY) had a big day at the plate with two triples and an RBI, while Wendelken helped her own cause with an RBI single. Jenna Smyczynski (East Aurora, NY), Mackenzie Wendelken (Stuyvesant, NY/Ichabod Crane), Neeser, and Hannah Dean (Ripley, ME/Dexter) all doubled in the game, with Smyczynski also adding an RBI.
 
The Tigers broke the scoreless tie in the second inning when Neeser came around to score on a throwing error. In the fifth, Cobleskill tacked on two more runs — Smyczynski drove in DiGiacco with a groundout and Gabriella Wendelken plated pinch-runner Laci Prignon (Dryden, NY) with a sharp single to left.
 
DiGiacco put an exclamation point on the game in the sixth, ripping her second triple of the game to bring home Samantha Bargren (Wilmington, DE/Brandywine). Gabriella Wendelken then slammed the door in the seventh to seal the 4-0 win.
 
Game Two: Cobleskill 11, Delhi 1 (5 innings)
Game two turned into a power display, and it belonged to Aliyah Neeser. The sophomore slugger went 3-for-3 with two home runs, six RBIs, a double, and three runs scored, including a grand slam in the top of the first inning that cleared the center field fence and sent the Cobleskill dugout into a frenzy.
 
Neeser wasn't done — she added a two-run blast in the fourth inning, capping one of the most explosive individual performances in program history.
 
Cobleskill racked up 13 hits in the five-inning rout. Wendelken stayed hot at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. DiGiacco stayed perfect at the dish, finishing 2-for-2 with an RBI. First-year Avery Prievo (Camden, NY) chipped in with a 2-for-3 line, an RBI, and a run scored. Kylie Rattigan (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington), Dean, and Brielle Dixon (Millville, NJ) all added hits to the offensive onslaught.
 
In the circle, Madelynn Orosz (Seymour, CT/Nonnewaug) turned in a steady five-inning performance, giving up five hits and one unearned run to improve to 5-1 on the season. She struck out one and walked none in the win.
 
Cobleskill jumped out quickly, with Neeser's grand slam staking the Tigers to a 4-0 lead in the first. Prievo's RBI single in the third made it 5-0, but Delhi responded with a run in the fourth.
 
The Tigers answered in a big way, blowing the game wide open with a six-run fourth inning. DiGiacco doubled in Bargren, Smyczynski drove in DiGiacco with a groundout, and Brook Irizarry (Florida, NY/S.S. Seward) crossed the plate on a Wendelken single. Then Neeser delivered her second long ball of the day, a two-run shot that made it 11-1 and left no doubt.
 
Up Next:
The Tigers hit the road tomorrow for a rematch doubleheader at SUNY Delhi, with first pitch scheduled for 3:00 p.m.