NEW ROCHELLE, NY – The Iona College softball team swept the Quinnipiac Bobcats on senior day at Donald E. Walsh Field on Sunday. Freshman Kara Zazzaro stole the show, tossing a total of 12 innings across the doubleheader and earning the win in both games.

GAME ONE: IONA 3 – QUINNIPIAC 0

Iona honored seniors Kimmie Chiapparelli, Marisa Gergel and Hailey Thompson prior to the start of game one. Junior Jasmine Temple and Zazzaro would be the ones deserving of honors after the game. 
 
After Zazzaro worked out of a jam in the top of the first inning, Gergel and Chilcott reached base to open up the bottom half of the frame. Five pitches later, Temple hit an absolute no-doubter over the left field fence to push Iona in front 3-0 early on.
 
This would be all the run support that Zazzaro would need, as she cruised through the next few innings. The rookie allowed two hits, both in the top of the third, over the course of the next four innings.
 
The Bobcats put the tying run on first base with nobody out in the top of the sixth. Brighid Douglas hit a ball to centerfield, scoring the runner from third; it would be appealed by Iona though, and they won that appeal. The umpires agreed that Erin Larsen left early from third base and the run was taken off the board. A bases-loaded, no-out jam turned into runners on second and third with no outs and no runs across for Zazzaro. A strikeout looking would end Quinnipiac's rally and keep the deficit at three. 
 
Zazzaro made quick work of the Bobcats in the top of the seventh, needing just 12 pitches to retire the side in order and earn the win in game one.

GAME TWO: IONA 8 – QUINNIPIAC 4

Game two saw Marnie Skinner run into trouble in her first inning of work. After being held scoreless in game one, Quinnipiac struck for three runs before Iona was able to bat. All three runs against Skinner in the first inning were unearned, as an error at second to lead off the inning would allow runs to cross in the opening frame.
 
Good baserunning and timely hitting allowed Iona to start off on the right foot offensively in game two. Temple was able to move up sixty feet, into scoring position, on a pitch in the dirt with two outs and Chiapparelli at the dish. The senior would drive in Temple with a hard single to the opposite field that made it 3-1 in favor of the Bobcats.
 
Two extra-base hits in the following inning would allow Quinnipiac to get the run right back. Larsen's RBI triple into the right centerfield gap made it a three-run advantage again for the visitors. 
 
Zazzaro entered in relief in the third inning, retiring the side in order to get Iona back at it offensively. Kayla Hujber laid down a bunt, beating it out and then advancing all the way to third on an errant throw to lead off the inning. Gergel drew a walk and Meray swung at the first pitch she saw, sending it into centerfield and sending Hujber across the plate for Iona's second run. The sacrifice fly was the only run that the Gaels scored in the inning, despite having runners in scoring position on multiple occasions.
 
The fourth inning was disastrous for Quinnipiac; two batters into the frame, Iona had runners on second and third with no outs. Brundrett got Hannah Collins to strike out looking on a 3-2 pitch, but she walked Hujber to load the bases with one away. Gergel became the third consecutive batter to work the count full against Brundrett, earning a base-on-balls and pushing across a run to cut the deficit to one. Meray laced an 0-1 offering into right centerfield and gave Iona a lead for the first time in game two. The Maroon & Gold added one more run on a Temple sacrifice fly, taking a 6-4 lead into the fifth frame.
 
Zazzaro retired six of the next seven batters to face her before the Iona offense added some more cushion for the rookie. Temple would drive in a run with a single through the middle and later in the inning, Meray would score on a pitch that went to the backstop to make it 8-4 in favor of the Gaels.
 
Zazzaro allowed a two-out single to Larsen in the seventh but finished what Skinner started and earned her second win in as many games on the day.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

• Zazzaro's two wins on the day moved her record to 10-9 on the season.
• Temple drove in five runs across the two games; the big hit was her fifth HR of the season in game one.
• Iona pitching struck out 15 Bobcats on the afternoon, allowing just two free passes.
• Chiapparelli notched hits in both game one and two. Each Iona senior provided at least one hit today.
• Meray finished the day 3-5 at the plate with a double, 3 RBI and a stolen base.
• Chilcott, DiGuilio and Meray all recorded multi-hit games in the first win of the day. 
• The Maroon & Gold drew eight walks in the second contest, three of which came in the four-run fourth inning in game number two.

UP NEXT

Iona will hit the road and wrap up the regular season at Rider (May 4) and at Monmouth (May 5). The Hawks currently hold the number one spot in the MAAC standings. Both of those matchups are doubleheaders and will begin at 12:00 p.m.

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