NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, NY - The Iona College softball team split a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference double header with Niagara University Saturday. In game one, the Gaels prevailed by the score of 3-2, before being handed their first loss in conference play in game two by the score of 10-1.
In game one, the Gaels and Purple Eagles traded scoreless frames for the first five innings. In the top of the sixth, Iona cracked the scoreboard for two runs. Freshman CF
Jodi Petersen led off with a double while classmate DP
Eileen McCann reached on a fielding error.Sophomore 1B
Allyssa James followed and reached base on a fielder's choice, but an throwing error by catcher Becky Zill on a failed run down between third base and home plate scored Peterson and McCann to give Iona a 2-0 lead. The Gaels tact on another run in the seventh when Petersen was hit by the pitch with the bases loaded.
The Purple Eagles attempted a rally in their final inning. Junior Kayla Hines belted her third home run of the year to score Jen Hare to bring Niagara to 3-2 with one out. The rally fell short when Zill and Alexis Wayne recorded the final two outs.
Sophomore P Sarah Jackson upped her record to 14-5 with the win in the circle for Iona. In seven innings, Jackson allowed six hits and two runs while striking out eight. Junior 2B Tessa Earley had two hits for the Gaels in the victory.
In game two, junior Teresa Healy launched a two-run homer in the first inning to give NU a 2-0 lead. In the second inning, Maggie McDonald drove home Zill and Hare with a single to left field. Healy followed with her third RBI in two innings with a single to score senior Kristin Kill.
Niagara took a 5-1 lead into the fourth inning where the Purple Eagles put the game away with clutch hitting. Senior Laynie Stillman led off the inning with a walk, and four batters later, fellow senior Jenna Baker hit a hard ground ball up the middle to score two runs with the bases loaded. Hines later cleared the bases with a three-run RBI double to centerfield as the Purple Eagles took a 10-1 lead. Senior Cassie Stone held Iona scoreless in the two innings of work as DiMatteo earned her twelfth win of the season.
Sophomore Deanne Algeo took the loss for Iona, allowing five runs in 1.2 innings of work. Iona scored its lone run of the game in the third when McCann drove in freshman SS Marisa Newman with a run scoring double.
The Gaels continue their upstate swing with a double header at Canisius on Sunday, with game one beginning at 12:00pm.
