HACKENSACK, NJ – The Iona College softball team salvaged a split of the mid-week doubleheader with an 11-0 victory in game two over Fairleigh Dickinson. Junior Marnie Skinner shutout the Knights over five innings of two-hit ball.

GAME ONE: FDU 4 – IONA 1

Coming off of her no-hit performance at Saint Peter's, freshman Kara Zazzaro started game one of Iona's doubleheader at Fairleigh Dickinson. The Knights proved that she wasn't flawless, loading the bases in the bottom of the first with two singles and a walk. Zazzaro though, proved she was resilient on the hill and got Amarys Miller-Godsey to strike out swinging and keep FDU off the scoreboard.
 
Senior Kimmie Chiapparelli led of the top of the second with an infield single; she was stranded at first base when the next three batters were retired in order. Zazzaro punched out another victim in the bottom half of the frame and left two more Knights on base at the innings conclusion.
 
FDU starter Baylee Ports was cruising to begin her third inning of work, striking out the first two batters to open the inning. Senior Marisa Gergel notched her second base-hit of the game and moved up to second on Jessica Chilcott's infield single. Iona's fourth hit of the game came off the bat of junior first baseman Jasmine Temple and plated the game's first run and gave Iona the early advantage.
 
Over the next two innings, Zazzaro retired six of the seven batters she faced, offering a free pass to Miller-Godsey to open the fourth, but stranding her in scoring position to hold the lead.
 
Ports retired the Maroon & Gold in order in the fourth and fifth after allowing a run in the third. FDU's offense struck in the bottom of the fifth to take the lead; Reanna Cervantes homered to right-centerfield with one-out after a low throw from shortstop Natalia Meray couldn't be dug-out by Temple. The two-run shot gave the Knights the 2-1 lead after five full innings. 
 
Abby England entered in relief of Ports; she allowed a one-out single to Temple but retired Chiapparelli and Ciarra DiGuilio to help her squad maintain the one-run advantage.
 
Zazzaro walked the first two hitters in the bottom of the sixth. They advanced a base each on a sacrifice bunt. The rookie got a huge strikeout, her fourth of the game, for the second out of the inning. Logan Kolehmainen delivered a huge base knock, bringing home two runs and providing much-needed insurance for her team.
 
England would indeed close things out, earning her first save of the season as she worked around a two-out single from pinch hitter Taylor Brown in the inning. Ports got credit for the win, her fourth of the season; she scattered five hits, allowing one run and striking out nine Gaels.

GAME TWO: IONA 11 – FDU 0

The second game of the doubleheader pitted juniors Marnie Skinner and Erica Johnson against each other. The Gael offense got to Johnson immediately, jumping out to a 3-0 advantage after one full inning. All of the damage came with two down in the frame; Chiapparelli worked a seven-pitch walk and Meray was hit by the second pitch she saw to load the bases. DiGuilio put Johnson's full-count offering into play and legged out an infield single to plate the first run of the contest. Senior Hailey Thompson followed that up with a two-run single to bring home Chiapparelli and Meray.
 
Iona wasn't done yet, extending its lead to 5-0 just three batters into the second inning. Gergel was hit by a pitch, the third such victim of the game, and came around to score on a Chilcott double. Temple singled down the first-base line to push the lead to five runs. Johnson was finally chased from the game after Chiapparelli laced a double to put two runners in scoring position with no one out. Iona would leave the bases loaded to end the top of the second; Irene Herrera entered in relief and kept her inherited runners from scoring and held the deficit to five runs just as it was when she took the mound.
 
The Maroon & Gold would tack on two more runs in the fourth inning to make it 7-0. Thompson hit a blooper that landed in front of home plate to plate a run and leftfielder Kayla Hujber singled through the right side to bring DiGuilio home. Rebecca Gabert would strike out to end the inning.
 
The Gaels had the opportunity to build a lead large enough to enforce the mercy rule in the bottom of the fifth… and they did just that. With two away in the inning, Chiapparelli singled home Gergel to make it 8-0. Three pitches later Meray would triple and drive in Chiapparelli and then, on an 0-2 pitch, DiGuilio pulled one over the rightfield fence and made it 11-0 in favor of Iona.
 
All the while, Skinner was pitching a gem; she allowed just two hits over her five innings of work, punching out five victims and walking just one. Skinner and the Gaels cruised to an 11-0, five-inning victory to split the doubleheader with the Knights.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

• Zazzaro's 13-inning scoreless streak came to an end when Cervantes homered off of the rookie in the fifth inning.
• Gergel and Temple both had multi-hit performances in the game-one loss. Temple's single in the first inning allowed Gergel to come around and score Iona's only run of the contest.
• The Gaels out-hit the Knights in the first game, 7-5. 
• DiGuilio's two-run HR in the fifth inning of game two was her second of the season. The junior reached base in all three of her plate appearances.
• Thompson's three RBI were a season-best for the second baseman at the dish.
• The All-MAAC Preseason Pitcher selection, Marnie Skinner, notched her second shutout of the season.
• Meray's triple in game two was the first of the season for the shortstop and just the second for a member of the Maroon & Gold.

UP NEXT

Iona returns home to New Rochelle, NY to play Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference foe Niagara on Saturday. Canisius will visit Donald E. Walsh Field on Sunday as the Gaels open up home-conference play.

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