Cobleskill, NY - Thomas College plated one run in each of the first four innings and went on to defeat Vermont State University Lyndon, 4-1, on the opening day of the North Atlantic Conference Softball Cgampionship Tournament Friday. The third seed Terriers (17-18) went on to defeat second seeded SUNY Cobleskill, 6-2, later Thursday, and will face top seed Husson University in the winner's bracket final on Saturday.. The sixth seeded Hornets (6-24) will face #4 University of Maine at Farmington in an elimination game on Saturday. UMF was a 7-1 winner over #5 State University of New York at Delhi on Thursday morning, before dropping a 9-2 decision to Husson.
After Thomas retired Lyndon in the top of the first inning, the Terriers took the lead in the bottom of the inning. Maddy Morris doubled leading off, and later scored on Mackenzie Toner's base hit back up the middle.
Lyndon threatened in the top of the second when they loaded the bases following walks to Seairra Anderson (Somersworth, NH) and Shyanne Glencross (Tilton, NH) and Kazandra Gonzalez (Norwalk, CA) being hit by a pitch. However Terrier pitcher Megan Oberholzer was able to get a strike out for the final out to end the threat.
Thomas pushed across another run in the bottom of the second inning. Brooklyn Federico doubled leading off. She advanced to third on Abby Rarone's sacrifice bunt, then scored on a Morris RBI single.
Lyndon again threatened in the top of the third inning, but couldn't break through. Lindsey Gannon (Beverly, MA) reached on an error leading off the inning and made it all the way to third base before being stranded.
Thomas extended their lead to 3-0 in the bottom half of the third. Kayla Duhaime drew a one-out walk and eventually scored on Teresa McLinden's ground out. The Terriers then tacked on another run without a base hit in the bottom of the fourth inning when Leah Knight walked leading off and later scored when Morris grounded out.
While Thomas was able to scratch out four runs against Hornet starter Emily Anderson, Lyndon wouldn't enjoy similar success against Oberholzer, who kept the Hornets off the board through the first six innings.
Down to their last at bat, Lyndon made one more attempt at a rally. Ann Watkins (Losa Angeles, CA) beat out an infield hit with one out, then stole second base. She came in to score on Blake Southworth's (Bethel, VT) two-out single. However Thomas was able to get the final out to secure the 4-1 victory.
Oberholzer picked up the complete game win after allowing no earned runs and five hits while striking out four and walking three. Emily Anderson took the loss after allowing six hits and walking three over six innings.
The tournament will resume on Saturday, as Friday's slate has already been pushed back due to expected heavy rain in the Cobleskill area throughout the day on Friday. The elimination game between Lyndon and UMaine-Farmington is tentatively slated to begin at 9:00 am, although the actual start and the venue will be determined according to field conditions. Please check VTSUHornets.com and our various social media feeds for the latest updates.
