Elise Oleson’s grand slam powers Cornell to doubleheader split with rival Coe

MOUNT VERNON – Pressure crushes rocks and creates diamonds.

Elise Oleson doesn’t mind pressure in the batter’s box and has been a gem for Cornell softball.

Oleson delivered a grand slam in the bottom of the sixth and powered the Rams to a 4-1 victory over rival Coe in the opener of the Bremner Cup Series doubleheader Wednesday at Van Metre Family Softball Field. The Kohawks rebounded and forced a split with a 5-4 win in the nightcap

Cornell (8-7) defeated Coe (6-14) for the first time since April 1, 2015, snapping a 13-game drought.

“It’s nice to be there for my team,” Oleson said. “I kind of like the pressure. It makes me want to perform. I’m pretty comfortable in those situations but it is nerve-racking, too.”

Oleson’s big blast highlight the inning the Rams were able to finally produce some offense. Coe starter Natalie Hitt did allow a hit through the first 5 1/3 innings. The only Rams runner before the late rally was Brooke Furman’s two-out walk in the third.

Furman started the comeback when she reached second on a flyball to left field. Alexa Corona walked and Addie Bowman looped a single to shallow right center to win a nine-pitch at-bat and set up Oleson’s heroics.

“They made adjustments,” Cornell Coach Jackie Yoder said. “They shortened their swings up. They knew what they were getting and seeing. They went to the simple things with a pass-the-bat mentality.”

Oleson worked the count to 2-2 and then hit a high, long fly over the left field fence. She said she knew she hit it well when it bounced off the bat. After the opener, Oleson led the Rams with four home runs and 20 RBIs.

“I was just looking for the right pitch, my pitch, for a base hit to score a run,” Oleson said. “It just happened to be a home run.

“It was crazy. I wasn’t expecting it at all, so it was really exciting.”

The sophomore from Burlington-Notre Dame has produced for the Rams in similar situations, serving as the No. 3 hitter. She was batting over .300 before the nightcap.

“She’s come in clutch in times like that before where she just hits a monster bomb,” Yoder said. “We’re pretty excited about it. You kind of hope it keeps going.

“I knew it had enough height. I just hoped it had enough distance. I was glad to see it go out.”

Lexi Ellermeier earned the win in the circle for Cornell. She scattered five hits and pitched out a bases-loaded jam in the first and closed the game by snagging a rocket-like line drive for the final out.

She allowed one run in the fourth. Coe’s Katelyn Bladecki singled and scored on a Haley Sanders two-out double. Ellermeier stranded runners on four innings and sat Coe down in order in the third and sixth.

“I think she did a great job,” Yoder said. “She held her composure. She came out ready to pitch, ready to deal.”

Cornell’s win came on the heels of a doubleheader sweep where the team’s combined to score 70 runs Sunday. The Rams had walk-off home runs in both of those home games and found a way to win in the bottom of the sixth Wednesday.

“Our bats are on fire, right now, especially with those wins on Sunday,” Oleson said. “Crazy scores. We had so many hits.

“I think we have a lot of potential and we will make it far in the season.”

In Game 2, Coe provided the comeback. The Koawks erased a four-run deficit with a run in the fifth and four in the sixth for the win.

Addie Menke went 2-for-2, including an RBI double that scored Maddie Harris in the sixth, to lead Coe. Marisa Vodicka added an RBI groundout that brought in Nicole Wagner.

Jessica Meisinger, who scored on an error in the fifth, hit a hard grounder missed by the second baseman and skidded to the fence. Menke scored and Meisinger wheeled around the bases, sliding into home for the decisive run.

Devan Baggett pitched three scoreless innings of relief to earn the win for Coe.

“They got that one big hit in Game 1 and had a lot of momentum, and started really hot,” Coe Coach Jake Koolbeck said. “I was proud of our ability to hang in there and not let it get away from us and find a way to win.

“At the end of the day, you’re never happy with a split but you could also have lost two. So, I’m proud of the way we responded there and continued to battle. We found a way to get it done.”

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