Utica, N.Y. – The Terriers went into the NAC Championship Tournament as the #3 seed and battled their way through four games until falling to Cazenovia College in Monday's Loser Bracket game, 11-3. On day one the Terriers started off by playing #6 seed SUNY Cobleskill, winning 3-1 and then to play a second game on day one. The Terriers then took on the #2 seed SUNY Poly during their second game on Sunday and were able to get a resounding 19-0 win. This allowed the Terriers to play #1 seeded Husson University on Monday, losing 2-1 in extra innings. Finally, a 11-3 loss to #4 seeded Cazenovia College ended a largely positive 2023 Softball season.
 
2023 Season Record: 
Thomas College: Overall (16-15), NAC (7-3)
 
Game 1; Thomas vs #6 SUNY Cobleskill 

How it Happened: 

• A three-batter top of the first inning set the tone for much of the game, thanks to two fly outs and a line out.
• Kelsey Currier got the Terriers off to a big start with a double to right field. She was followed up by Maddie Rock, who also doubled to right field to score Currier.
• The Terriers tacked on one more run as Riley Giblin singled to score Rock to make the score 2-0.
• In the bottom of the second inning, Kaylee Fonseca hit a solo home run to left field to give the Terriers a 3-0 lead.
• The majority of the game was a defensive battle, as both teams couldn't find a way to score.
• The Fighting Tigers chipped into the Terriers' lead with a run of their own in the top of the fifth inning, despite some good fielding.
• This would be the last run of the game, and the Fighting Tigers had a three at-bat top of the 7^th inning to seal a 3-1 win for the Terriers.
• Currier led both teams with three hits in three at bats, while Rock, Giblin, and Fonseca all had one RBI.

 
The Pitching: 
Kelsey Currier got the win in the circle for the Terriers. She pitched all seven innings, striking out six batters and only allowing five hits to lead the Terriers to their first win of the tournament.
 
Game 2; Thomas vs #2 SUNY Poly 
 
How it Happened: 

• In the final game of day one, the Terriers leapt out to a huge 6-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Cheyanne Simpson, Currier, Rock, Oberholzer, Giblin, and Katy McIntyre all singled in the first inning, and Makayla Panich added on a double to score one more run to make the score 6-0.
• With a three-batter bottom of the first, the game looked out of reach for the Wildcats.
• The Terriers cemented their place in the game by capitalizing on three errors in the inning with five more runs in the second to make the score 11-0. Currier, Oberholzer, Kayla Duhaime, and Fonseca all got hits, and Fonseca drove in three runs with a monster double.
• The Terriers struck again in the third, with one run coming from a wild pitch, and RBI's coming from Duhaime and Oberholzer to make the score 14-0.
• The final blow was delt in the fourth inning, where the Terriers once again capitalized on errors to score five more runs. Hits by Simpson, Currier, Rock, McIntyre, and Panich were all singles, and helped the Terriers take a 19-0 lead.
• No runs were scored for the rest of the game, and as a result the Terriers earned a resounding 19-0 victory in their second game.
• Nine Terriers finished with hits. Currier, Rock, and Oberholzer all finished with three hits, while Simpson, Duhaime, McIntyre, and Panich ended the game with two hits each.
• McIntyre, Fonseca, and Oberholzer all had three RBI's each, making quick work of the Wildcats.

 
The Pitching: 
Oberholzer got the start and the win the circle for the Terriers. Oberholzer only allowed three hits the entire game, striking out five batters in the process. Jordan Devine came in relief after the fourth inning, striking out one batter and closed the game out.
 
Game 3; Thomas vs #1 Husson

• Arguably the most entertaining and exciting game up to this point, these two evenly matched teams battled it out on day two to try and advance in the tournament.
• The first two innings were a stalemate, neither team being able to get much of anything going in terms of hits.
• The Terriers struck first in the bottom of the third inning. With two outs, Currier singled up the middle, followed by another single by Rock. A throwing error from the Eagles' shortstop allowed Currier to score to make it 1-0.
• Neither team were able to score in the fourth, but Husson responded in the top of the fifth inning. A walk led to the Eagles tying the game at one, but Currier struck out the next batter to leave three runners on base.
• The sixth inning had only six at bats, with all batters for either team either lining out, grounding out, or fouling out.
• Going into the seventh inning, both teams were at a stalemate and needed something to get past the other.
• The Eagles were able to get two players on base, but a strikeout thanks to Currier and a ground out to first retired the Eagles for the inning.
• In the bottom of the seventh with the game on the line, all three batters for the Terriers made good contact, but were all straight to Eagles players, which meant that they were going to extra innings.
• In the top of the eighth inning, a sacrifice fly advanced the runner placed on second to third, and another sacrifice fly to center field saw the Eagles take advantage and score the final run of the game to make it 2-1.
• The Terriers with one last chance to make an impact, put themselves in a good position with a hit and two on base, but a lineout ended the game for the Terriers, with a 2-1 loss.
• Both Currier and Rock finished with two hits, and Duhaime finishing with one. Rock earned her 100^th college hit in this game, an incredibly impressive milestone.

 
The Pitching: 
Kelsey Currier once again got the start for the Terriers, pitching a really positive game. Currier finished with seven strikeouts, four hits, and only one earned run. Her impressive performance against a good Eagles team was a positive in the loss.
 
Game 4; Thomas vs #4 Cazenovia

• After the loss against Husson, the Terriers faced Cazenovia to decide who would play in the championship game against Husson.
• Once again, the first two innings were a stalemate, with both teams unable to find any scoring plays. However, the Wildcats showed their potential by getting three hits in the top of the second but left three runners on base.
• The Wildcats found the first runs of the game in the top of the third inning, with three singles in a row putting their runners in a good position and scoring one.
• An error saw the second run of the game score, but the Terriers were able to get out of the inning with three Wildcat runners left on base.
• The Terriers looked poised to respond with two hits in the bottom of the inning, but unlucky ground outs meant two runners were left on base.
• The Wildcats doubled their lead in the top of the fourth inning, with a double down the left field line scoring two runs to make the score 4-0.
• The Terriers didn't give up though, and there was life in the bottom of the fifth inning. Singles from Panich and Simpson and a walk from Currier meant the bases were loaded, the perfect opportunity to take advantage.
• Rock reached first on a throwing error from the Wildcats' shortstop, which scored Panich to make the score 4-1.
• This was followed by Oberholzer's huge single to right field, which scored Currier and Simpson on the play to make it 4-3. The inning ended with an unlucky double play and a flyout to center field.
• The Wildcats were able to score one more run in the top of the sixth inning with a single to center field, but the Terriers were able to limit any more damage and left two Wildcat runners on base.
• The Terriers were once again close to scoring in the bottom of the inning, but were unable to find the finishing touch, leaving two runners on base.
• The floodgates opened in the top of the seventh inning, which saw the Wildcats score six runs to make the score 11-3.
• The Terriers were able to make contact in the bottom of the seventh, but ultimately were knocked out with the loss, ending their overall successful season.
• Simpson, Oberholzer, and Panich all finished with two hits, and Oberholzer finished with two RBI's.

The Pitchers: 
Oberholzer started the game in the circle for the Terriers. She pitched five total innings, striking out two batters with three earned runs and three walks. Currier came in after the fifth, allowing four earned runs but only allowing one walk during this time.


All-NAC Tournament Team: 
Kelsey Currier and Maddie Rock both earned a spot of the NAC All Tournament Team for their efforts during the weekend and season long success.