Cobleskill Softball Advances to NAC Title Game After Historic Three-Win Day

ONEONTA – The SUNY Cobleskill softball team stormed through three consecutive elimination games on Saturday at the NAC Championship Tournament, defeating SUNY Delhi, UMaine-Farmington, and Thomas College to advance to the North Atlantic Conference Championship round.

With their thrilling third win of the day, the Tigers set a new program record for most wins in a season, improving to 22 victories overall.

Game One: Cobleskill 10, Delhi 6

In a high-stakes elimination game, the Tigers jumped out to a fast start with a three-run first inning and sealed the win with two more in the sixth to eliminate SUNY Delhi.

First-year Hannah Dean (Ripley, ME/Dexter) led the charge, going 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI, and two runs. Gabriella Wendelken (Stuyvesant, NY/Ichabod Crane) added a triple and two runs, while Avery Prievo (Camden, NY) and Mackenzie Wendelken (Stuyvesant, NY/Ichabod Crane) each had RBI doubles.

Gabby Wendelken also earned the complete-game win, allowing six runs (three earned) on six hits over seven innings.

After Delhi tied the game twice, Cobleskill responded each time. Dean sparked a fifth-inning rally with an RBI infield single and later scored, while the Tigers tacked on two more in the sixth to pull away.

Game Two: Cobleskill 18, UMaine-Farmington 12

In a 30-run slugfest, Cobleskill pounded out 18 runs on 17 hits to outlast UMaine-Farmington and move on to the third-place game.

Kylie Rattigan (Poughkeepsie, NY/Arlington) went 4-for-5 with three doubles and three runs, while Avery Prievo drove in a career-high seven runs on a 3-for-4 day. Aliyah Neeser (Forest Lake, MN/Forest Lake Area) added three RBIs, and Kailee DiGiacco was 4-for-5 with two RBIs and a triple.

Gabriella Wendelken came on in relief and stabilized the game, throwing 5.0 innings and allowing just one run on four hits with three strikeouts to earn her eighth win.

After falling behind 10-7 in the second, the Tigers chipped away and broke through with a six-run sixth, capped by a bases-clearing triple from Prievo, to seal the victory.

Game Three: Cobleskill 8, Thomas 7

Facing a 7-1 deficit in the third inning, the Tigers mounted a remarkable comeback to defeat Thomas College and punch their ticket to the NAC Championship Game.

Aliyah Neeser went 3-for-4 with two doubles, two RBIs, and the game-winning run. Prievo added two RBIs, and Madelynn Orosz (Seymour, CT/Nonnewaug) delivered the game-winning hit.

Orosz also earned the win with a dominant relief outing, tossing 4.2 innings of one-hit, scoreless softball after entering with Cobleskill trailing by six.

Cobleskill chipped away over the middle innings and exploded in the seventh. With the tying run on base, Neeser’s two-run double tied the game, and Orosz followed with a go-ahead RBI single. She then closed it out with a perfect seventh inning in the circle.