ONEONTA, N.Y. -- The Oneonta softball team defeated Ithaca 4-2 in game one before they dropped game two, 6-1, in their non-conference doubleheader Saturday afternoon at the Red Dragon Softball Stadium. Sophomore
Maya Nelsen (South Salem, N.Y./John Jay Cross River) recorded the final out of game one with a diving catch in right field when the bases were loaded for the win. Senior
Sophia Mangone (Ardsley, N.Y./Ardsley) went 4-for-6 on the day as the Red Dragons moved to 6-10 this season and the Bombers went to 11-3 overall.
Game One: Oneonta 4, Ithaca 2
Oneonta was the first team to light up the scoreboard with a couple of runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Junior
Jaime Cardello (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) hit an infield single to short to lead off the inning. Sophomore
Ava Thys (Fairfax, Va./James W. Robinson Secondary (Va.)) hit a grounder to the left side of the field where the Bomber shortstop threw the ball past the first baseman which allowed Cardello to score and Thys to advance to third. Sophomore
Emily Brown (Westbury, N.Y./Clarke) brought Thys home with a sacrifice fly to right field for the two-run lead.
Ithaca tied the game in the top of the sixth with a two-run triple, but Oneonta regained the advantage with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning. Thys reached second base with one out on a dropped fly ball by the right fielder. Brown then hit a grounder to short and the shortstop tried to throw out Thys at third, however the throw was off target and Thys made her way home. Freshman
Riley McDonnell (Melville, N.Y./Walt Whitman) pinch ran for Brown and advanced to third off Mangone's single to center field, then touched home another single to center from junior
Cailin Hall (Oakdale, N.Y./Connetquot) to make it 4-2.
In the top of the seventh, the Bombers loaded the bases to get the game-leading run on first with two outs. On a 1-1 count, Kailen Winkelblech hit a fly ball down the right field line where Nelsen tracked it down and dove to make the final out and seal the victory for the Red Dragons.
Hall finished game one 2-for-3 with an RBI, and Mangone went 2-for-3. Cardello and Thys each went 1-for-3 and combined for three runs scored.
Brown (4-4) earned the win after a complete game performance with four strikeouts and two runs allowed on four hits. She also recorded an RBI offensively.
Anna Cornell (3-3) took the loss after pitching the complete game, striking out six and allowing four runs, one earned, on six hits.
Game Two: Oneonta 1, Ithaca 6
Ithaca scored with an RBI single in the top of the first, then Oneonta tied it in the bottom half of the inning. Senior
Julia Serena (White Plains, N.Y./Valhalla) singled down the right field line, then made it to third on a single by freshman
Sophia Camacho (Newburgh, N.Y./Our Lady of Lourdes) and a sacrifice bunt from Cardello. Thys tied the game with a sacrifice fly to left field that brought Serena home before Camacho got tagged trying for third.
The Red Dragons got a runner in scoring position in the third and fourth innings, but came up empty each time, and the Bombers recorded four runs in the fifth inning to take a 5-1 lead. Three runs came from base-loaded walks, and one on a throwing error. Ithaca scored one more in the top of the sixth with a sacrifice fly.
Mangone went 2-for-3 in game two, while Serena, Camacho, and Brown all went 1-for-3.
Freshman
Tanner Smith (White Plains, N.Y./Vahalla) (1-2) was tagged with the loss as she pitched 3.2 innings, struck out two, and allowed three runs on three hits. Junior
Anna Torgersen (Chester, NJ/Mendham) pitched 1.2 innings and struck out one and allowed one hit.
Mady Rowell (7-0) pitched a complete game, struck out seven and allowed one run on five hits for Ithaca.
The Red Dragons are back in action on Friday, April 4, for a SUNYAC doubleheader on the road against Canton starting at 3 pm.
