Jones stars as Gators sweep Cobleskill
Troy, NY----The Sage Colleges softball team hosted the Fighting Tigers of SUNY-Cobleskill on Thursday afternoon in a non-conference doubleheader on Thursday afternoon. Sage would take both games and have now won eight of their last nine contests to stand at 8-24 overall, while Cobleskill drops to 5-27.
Sage’s lone senior, short stop Kellie Jones (Troy, NY/Troy) erupted for three home runs on the day, including two in the same inning of the first game to lift the Gators to the win. Jones was 3-4 with three RBIs and two homers in the first contest and backed up that effort with 1-1 performance with a solo home run in the lead- off spot in her at bat in the fourth inning to start a three-run inning. Jones leads Sage with her .437 average this season with a team-high 45 hits, 11 doubles, and six home runs.
Jones will be honored on Saturday in her final home stand as the Gators host SUNY-Old Westbury in a Skyline Conference doubleheader at 1 p.m. at Robison Field.
Cobleskill jumped out to a 1-0 lead with an RBI double by freshman Karah Valenti (Athens, NY/Coxsackie-Athens). Sage would tie the action in the bottom of the second as sophomore Kristen Knights (Chatham, NY/Chatham) had an RBI single.
Sage exploded for eight runs in the bottom of the fifth inning as they got a pair of home runs from Jones and pair of doubles from freshman pitcher Gabriella Skillen (Milford, NY/Milford Central) and junior Allison Bishop (Troy, NY/Lansingburgh).
Skillen collected the win after allowing just one run off five hits with four strikeouts and is now 6-11 having appeared in 22 games, which is tied for 6th best in the Gator single-season record book. She has also now worked in 108.2 innings this year which is 9th best with 38 strikeouts (9th).
Cobleskill’s Kathleen Dennis (Mount Vision, NY/Edmonton) took the loss and is 2-11 on the year after she gave up eight earned runs with five walks.
GAME # 2 SAGE 10, Cobleskill, 1
Sage exploded for a seven run second inning as sophomore Ashley Eberle (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem) and rookie catcher Mallory Ingalls (Oriskany, NY/Oriskany Central) each connected on home runs. By game’s end, the Gators racked up three shots out of the park and Ingalls and sophomore Meghan Welcome (Cohoes, NY/Cohoes) each netted three RBIs in the night cap. Ingalls and Welcome each added doubles for the Gators as they had eight hits to ease past the Fighting Tigers.
Sage’s freshman Nichole French (Harrisville, NY/Harrisville Central) earned her first career win as she worked four innings with 1 unearned run off three hits and a pair of strikeouts.
Cobleskills senior Jessica Cole (Hobart, NY/South Kortright) took the loss after four innings of work with nine earned runs.
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