Farmville, VA - The Iona College softball team took to the field for the first time as
they faced Longwood and Norfolk State at the Longwood Invitational.
The Gaels had a tough outing against Longwood as they fell 13-1, but
quickly rebounded against Norfolk State, 8-6, to draw the split.
In game 1, the Lancers (3-3) put up three runs in each of the first three innings to take a commanding 9-0 lead. The Gaels (1-1) struggled to get anything going offensively as their only run of the game came in the bottom of the third inning. Freshman Nicole Carrabus drew a lead-off walk and was sacrificed over by classmate Melanie Gettins. After rookie Erin Kyle grounded out pushing Carrabus to third, sophomore Caitlin Calogera doubled to left field to put the Gaels on the scoreboard. The Maroon and Gold couldn't put anything else together as the Lancers put up four more runs in the top of the fifth inning and took a 13-1 win.
The Gaels looked to draw a split as they continued their first day of action with an afternoon contest against Norfolk State. Iona, who found themselves down against Longwood early, scored first against the Spartans (0-2). Gettins reached on an error and moved all the way to third on classmate Jessica Horvath's double to left. Senior Lolli Mills, one of five upper classmen, brought home the first run on a single into left and the Gaels went up 1-0.
Iona extended their lead using five hits to plate three more runs in the top of the second inning and it was quicky 4-0 Gaels. Through the first three innings, freshman RHP Amanda Berard held the Spartans to just one hit and one base runner. Iona seemed to put the game out of reach as the Maroon and Gold padded the lead with three more runs in the top of the fourth including a two-run home run by junior Valerie Laschen. The Spartans though drew closer in the bottom of the fourth plating three runs of their own. After a lead-off single by Rebecca Barnes, two consecutive errors pushed her around the diamond to third and Jeanette Sauceda brought her home on a fielder's choice. Norfolk State added two more runs in the inning to cut the Gaels' lead to 7-4.
Norfolk State got as close as 7-6 as they put a run in the fifth and sixth inning, but the Maroon and Gold got another long ball from Laschen, who lead-off the seventh with a solo shot, and helped Iona to a 8-6 victory. The win marked the first career victory for Head Coach Jaime Wohlbach at Iona. Berard pitched a complete game for the Gaels with nine hits, six runs, two earned, no walks and two strikeouts. "Berard did exactly as we asked," said Coach Wohlbach. "She kept the ball down and forced ground balls and took care of her role to get us a win."
Coach Wohlbach was impressed with her team's efforts in the first two games. "Mel (Gettins) played a very strong defensive game. She had a pickoff at first base in the first game and threw out a steal in a key situation in game two." Coach also pointed out that the team took a more aggressive approach at the plate against Norfolk State. "From the first game to the second game, we had more aggressive at-bats," commented Wohlbach. "Getting base runners and executing was important and we hope to translate that into tomorrow."
The Gaels face Quinnipiac at 12:00 pm and this game will determine their afternoon opponent. With a win, the Gaels will face Longwood in the championship game and a loss will find them playing for third place against Norfolk State.
