New Rochelle, NY - The Iona College softball team treated a record crowd of nearly 300 fans to two thrilling wins in the inaugural matchups at the new Rice Oval softball field this afternoon. The Gaels (8-18, 2-0 MAAC) defeated Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference rival Siena 3-2 in the opener and 6-0 in the nightcap.

Sophomore LF Courtney Christie came out as the hero with a bases loaded, game ending dive with two outs in the top of the seventh inning to seal the 3-2 win in game one.

Rookie CF Erin Kyle set the tone as Iona's first batter in the game tripling to the gap in right center field. She was plated by the next batter, freshman C Melanie Gettins on a sacrifice fly.

The Gaels added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 3-0 lead. with two out and runners on second and third, Christie's pop fly between the shortstop and the left fielder was mishandled. Senior 1B Lolli Mills raced around from second for the first run of the inning. Senior SS Amanda Glaser pushed home the eventual game winning run on a single up the middle.

Siena (6-16, 0-2 MAAC) threatened in nearly every inning until finally pushing across two runs of senior RHP Becky Riccitelli in the top of the fifth. with two out and the bases loaded, DP Sara Calcagnini found a hole that plated both Saints runs.

Riccitelli ran into some difficulty in the final inning before bearing down and recording the innings final three outs. After two straight singles through the left side of the infield, Calacagnini won a marathon 11-pitch battle with Riccitelli, finally drawing a walk. The senior righty never wavered, however, inducing two pop ups to shallow right and left field before Christie's diving stab to end the inning.

Five different batters recorded a hit for the Gaels in the win. Riccitelli (4-8) scattered 10 hits and struck out five for her fourth win of the season.

In the nightcap, Iona jumped all over Siena starter RHP Lauren Shaheen in the bottom of the first inning, scoring five runs on six hits as the lineup batted around in the frame. Kyle led off the game with a single, stole second and was plated by Gettins on a ground rule double that rolled under the fence in right field. Two batters later, Mills picked up an RBI on a single through the left side. She would score two batters after that on Christie's RBI double in the right centerfield gap. Glaser and sophomore RF Laura Hackimer also picked up RBI singles to give the Gaels all the runs they would need.

Iona tacked on a run in their final at bat when Kyle plated Christie with a two-out RBI single.

Senior RHP Katie Jo Passero (2-5) tossed arguably her finest outing in Maroon & Gold, baffling the Saint hitters with a nasty changeup. Passero allowed just four hits in the contest, each of which did not reach the out field. She had seven strikeouts and only ran into trouble in one of the seven innings. In the bottom of the sixth, the Gaels' defense bailed out their pitcher with an bases loaded, 5-2-3 inning ending double play. It was the first complete-game shut out in Maroon & Gold for the senior righty.

Kyle was the offensive star, hitting 3-for-4 with a run scored an an RBI in the victory. Christie was 1-for-2 with two runs scored and a run batted in.

Prior to the contest, Director of Athletics Patrick Lyons and school president Br. James A. Liguori joined Mr. Edward Arrigoni in throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. Lyons and Associate AD Corey Aronstam addressed the Iona supporters before the first pitch to thank them for all of their generosity in helping to make the Rice Oval Softball Field a reality.

Iona hits the road for five games beginning with a non-conference tune up at Hofstra on Tuesday and ending with the biennial Western NY swing to take on Canisius and Niagara next weekend.