HAMDEN, CT - The Iona College softball team moved to 7-3 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference action with a two game sweep of Quinnipiac Sunday afternoon at QU Softball Field. In game one, the Gaels picked up a 9-2 win before taking game two 13-3 in six innings.
Four Gaels registered four a team high four hits over the two games, including freshman Kelsey Long who along with classmate Katie Newton scored a team high four runs. Junior Allison Hand drove in a team high six runs over the double dip, while senior Katie Jansson had four runs batted in. Six players had multi-RBI performances.
The Gaels got the board quickly in game one, scoring three times in the top of the first inning. Jansson drove in two with a double to right field and then came around on an RBI single by sophomore Sarah Schutz.
Quinnipiac answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning to cut the Iona lead to one. Iona added two runs in the fifth inning when graduate student outfielder Eileen McCann drove in Newton and Long with a single to center field. The Maroon & Gold extended the lead to five, 7-2, in the sixth inning on a home run by Hand. The Gaels scored their final runs of the contest in the seventh inning. Junior Carly Argyle drove in a run with a single to center before junior Brianna Schauer followed later in the inning with a RBI base hit of her own.
Argyle picked up her eighth win of the season in game one, allowing just six hits and two runs over seven innings while striking out six. Sydney Robey (2-12) took the loss for Quinnipiac, allowing five runs and seven hits in 4.1 innings.
In the finale of the day, Iona took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when freshman Kristen Turner scored on a Quinnipiac error. The Gaels pushed the advantage to 4-0 with three runs in the third inning. McCann plated Long with a RBI triple and scored on single by Turner. Later in the inning, Jansson came around on the third run of the inning on a double to center by Schutz.
Iona scored two more runs in the fourth inning, courtesy of a two-run double by Hand, scoring Newton and Schauer. The Bobcats trimmed the deficit to three, 6-3, with a three run fourth inning. Edmands double in a run before Jarrett plated two with a single.
The Gaels put the game away with seven runs in the sixth inning. Hand drove in two more runs with an RBI single to left. Hand then came around on a single by Turner. Jansson drove in two runs with a fielder's choice, followed by a Quinnipiac error on the play. Schutz then put the Gaels ahead 12-3 with a RBI double before Schauer plated the final run of the frame with an infield single.
Sophomore Jordan Courage picked up her third win of the season for Iona in game two, allowing three runs, five hits and two walks in six innings while striking out five. Hannah Lindsley (5-8) took the loss for Quinnipiac, allowing six runs, four earned, in three-plus innings.
The Gaels are back in action Wednesday, when they travel to Wagner for a midweek non-conference double header beginning at 2:00 pm.
