DRYDEN - The Cardinals' had to fend off a final inning push by Dryden on Monday to start the season with a 15-13 victory in IAC play.

Newark Valley put runs on the board quick with a three-run top of the first. Kaitlyn Keith singled to right field to score Hattie Hines, before being driven in herself by an Abby Debolt base hit.

With two outs, Dryden's Drake struggled to find the strike zone, walking four straight and allowing Newark Valley to tack on three more runs to go ahead 5-0 through an inning of play.

The Cardinals' grabbed another run in the second when Haven Aylesworth reached first after being hit by a pitch. Aylesworth scored when she advanced to third on a passed ball and was sent home on an infield grounder by Keith.

Debolt started the game in the circle for Newark Valley and continued to pitch well getting through a second scoreless home half of the inning. Debolt kicked off the top of the third with a double to right field. Malloy Chapman came in to run for Debolt and scored the seventh Cardinal run of the game after a Kayden Rockwell bunt forced an errant throw.

Newark Valley continued to add on runs in the top part of the inning. Rockwell moved to third after multiple walked batters by Drake, and eventually scored on a passed ball. With the bases loaded, Cecelia Whitney grounded out, but scored Lilly Cornell. With two outs, the Cardinals' brought in two more runs on a Hines single which scored Rebecca Thompson and Maddy Noble.

In the home half of the third, Dryden added three runs of their own. Newark Valley came right back in the fourth though, with Chapman scoring on a passed ball to make the score 12-3, Cardinals.

The back and forth continued when Dryden's Hirsey walked, then advanced to second on a wild pitch and eventually scored after an infield error. Two more runs came in during the inning after another error occurred and runners scored from first and third. With four innings played,  Newark Valley hung on to a 12-6 lead.

The Cardinals' went down in order in the top of the fifth, while the Lions did not go so quietly, tacking on four more runs in the bottom half of the inning. After three straight walks by Debolt that loaded the bases, Dryden scored two runners after an error from catcher, Kaitlyn Keith. Dryden would score two more off of passed balls before the end of the inning, closing the gap to 12-10 in favor of Newark Valley.

Rockwell got things back on track for the Cardinals in the sixth when she drove Ludwig in, and later scored herself, after an error by the right fielder on an Aylesworth hit ball. With two outs, Newark Valley drove their final run of the night across home plate after a Maddy Noble line drive single brought in Cornell and put Newark Valley ahead 15-10.

Debolt showed real grit in the sixth by striking out three and then surviving a two-run bottom of the seventh to give Newark Valley their first win of the season, 15-13.

Debolt struck out 11 and only gave up four earned in her first varsity outing. 

"Abby threw a great game for her first varsity appearance," said head coach Val Fischer.

"We did what we needed to do in the box to get on base tonight. We have a list of things to work on, but overall a great game and I am very proud of this group. I am excited to see where we take this season," Fischer added.

Offensively, Debolt and Rockwell both went 2-for-3 with RBIs. Hines and Keith also added two RBIs each to go with a hit a piece.. Cornell drew two walks and crossed the plate three times, while Thompson and Aylesworth each chipped in a run.

Newark Valley is in action again Wednesday when they host Moravia.