NEW ROCHELLE, NY - The Iona College softball dropped a pair of contests Saturday on its second day of competition at the UNC Wilmington Beach Blast.  In the opener, the Gaels fell to Nebraska Omaha 16-0 before losing their finale of the day 2-1 to UNC Wilmington.

In the opener, Iona was held to just one hit, a first inning single by senior Eileen McCann.

With the Gaels trailing 1-0, the Mavs put the game away with an eight run third inning.  Tara Trede drove in two with a single up the middle and Allie Mathewson blasted a three run homer to right field, her second of the game.  Nebraska Omaha would tack on five more runs in the fifth and final inning of the contest.

Carly Argyle took the loss for Iona, allowing nine earned runs in three innings pitched.  Dana Elsasser got the win for the Mavs, allowing one hit in four innings of work.

In the second game of the day, the host Seahawks got on the board in the first inning when Lauryn Buckworth drove in Morgan McCann with an RBI single up the middle.

After being held score for the first nine innings of the day, Iona got on the board in the top of the fourth inning.  McCann led off with a single and senior Beth Kann followed with one of her own.  After a sacrifice bunt by freshman Christine Costello put the duo in scoring position, junior Katie Jansson drove in McCann with an RBI groundout.

The game would remain tied until the bottom of the seventh inning, when the Seahawks put across the game winning run when Jessica Rappe drew a bases loaded walk, driving in McCann with the deciding run.

Costello took the tough luck loss, allowing two runs, one earned, and struck out seven batters in the contest.  Casey Rowland got the win, allowing three hits and one run while walking two and striking out a pair.

Iona looks to salvage its final game of the weekend Sunday when they match up with the Seahawks at 11:30 am.