Pioneers and Eagles Battle in a Pair of One-Run Contests

Alfred State and Elmira battled in a pair of one-run contests on Monday afternoon. The Soaring Eagles came out on top in both contests picking up 7-6 and 12-11 victories.

In the opener, Elmira took the early lead with a single run in the 1st and 2nd innings. Rachel Katzenberger had a RBI double in the 1st and an error led to the Eagles run in the 2nd.

Courtney McDaniel (Arkport) hit a two-out 2-RBI double over the centerfielders head in the 3rd to tie the ball game up. In the 4th, Melissa Barber (Nassau/Catholic Central) hit a two-out 2-RBI single to give the Pioneers their first lead. Alfred State tacked on another run in the inning, taking advantage of a Elmira error.

Emily Clark delivered a RBI sinlge in the 5th but Aubri Mosier (Rome, PA) answered that with a RBI double in the 6th.

The Eagles rallied in the 7th. Clark hit a RBI double and then Cassie Hill, Sarah Garner, and Hannah Lundgren all followed with RBI singles to give Elmira a 7-6 lead. The Pioneers put runners on 1st and 2nd in the bottom half of the inning before Katie McDougal recorded the final out.

Barber was 4 for 4 with 2 RBI in the game while Mosier was 3 for 3 with a RBI. Jillian Kahn (Cohocton/Dansville) finished 2 for 4.

Clark was 2 for 3 with 2 RBI for Elmira while Katzenberger was 2 for 4 with a RBI. McDougal came out of the pen and pitched four innings of relief to earn the win.

The second game featured 23 runs, 25 hits, and 12 errors and came down to the final out. 

Maddy Johnson got Elmira on the board in the 1st when she scored on a wild pitch but Stormi Kruger (Medina) answered with a RBI single to tie it and scored on an error.

Johnson, Chelsea Storch, and Garner all collected RBI singles in the 2nd and Clark drove in a run on a fielder's choice to make it 5-2 but Barber answered with a RBI singled followed by a two-run single by Kruger to tie it right back up.

The Eagles built their lead to four with a pair of runs in the 3rd and 5th innings. Storch collected a RBI single in the 3rd and Samantha Jenkins scored on an error while Clark delivered a 2-RBI single in the 5th.

Kruger delivered a RBI single in the 6th to cut it to 9-6 but it looked like Elmira put the game out of reach with three more runs, keyed by RBI singles by McDougal and Lundgren, in the 7th. 

In the bottom of the 7th, the Pioneers battled right back into the game. Annie Corrao (Grand Island) hit a triple right inside the 3rd base bag that scored two. One batter later, Zoe Derr (Elmira Heights/Thomas Edison) made it 12-9 with a RBI single. A pair of throwing errors led the Lady Pioneers to score another run and Mosier cut the lead to 12-11 with a RBI ground out. With the tying run on 3rd, Emily Carlin induced a ground out to end the game.

Kruger finished the contest 4 for 5 with 4 RBI while Derr was 3 for 4. Corrao was 2 for 5 with 2 RBI and Barber was 2 for 5. 

Johnson was 3 for 4 with a RBI for Elmira while Storch, Garner, and McDougal all collected two hits. McDougal picked up the win on the mound while Carlin got the final two outs to earn the save.

Barber finished the doubleheader 6 for 9 with 3 RBI. The Lady Pioneers scored 12 of their 17 runs on the day with two-outs.

The Lady Pioneers are right back on the diamond tomorrow afternoon when they head to D'Youville for a 3 p.m. start. The games will be the first road contests of the season for Alfred State.