POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – The Iona College softball team defeated No. 4 Niagara on Wednesday afternoon, scoring five runs in the bottom of the seventh to win in walk-off fashion. Senior Hailey Thompson blasted a grand slam with one out in the seventh to notch Iona's first conference postseason victory since 2017.

GAME SUMMARY

Freshman Kara Zazzaro got the nod in the first game of the 2019 MAAC Softball Championship for Iona. She faced off with Niagara's Sierra Bertrand. Zazzaro was dominant through the first three frames, holding the Purple Eagles hitless in their first time through the batting order.
 
Iona's offense ended the regular season scoring just one run over its final two games; they turned things on rather quickly on Wednesday afternoon. Junior Ciarra DiGuilio doubled to clear the bases and give the Maroon & Gold a 3-0 lead after one inning. 
 
The Gaels loaded the bases for a second consecutive inning to begin the game, this time with nobody out in the second inning. Sophomore Natalia Meray singled on the first pitch she saw to push Iona's lead to four runs. Bertrand beared down though, getting a double play ball and a fly ball to hold the Gaels to just one run despite having the bases juiced with no one out.
 
Niagara got to Zazzaro in its second turn through the batting order. With two runners in scoring position and one out, Zazzaro offered up a gopher ball to Kendall Watkins to trim Iona's lead to just one. She would settle down and close out the inning without any more problems.
 
Jasmine Temple got her team one of those three runs back in the bottom of the fifth. The junior first baseman led off the inning with a solo homerun over the leftfield fence to make it 5-3 in favor of Iona.
 
In the top of the sixth, the same part of Niagara's batting order that gave Zazzaro trouble in the fourth frame, would get to her again. Maggie Vesneske reached on an error to lead off the inning and came around to score when the next hitter doubled. Zazzaro would retire Jerri Ann Orfano for the first out of the inning, but followed that up by offering a free pass to Watkins to put two runners on. Just as Watkins did two innings prior, Kelly Haberman blasted a three-run shot the give the Purple Eagles their first lead of the game. 
 
With a two-run lead entering the bottom of the sixth, Niagara called on reliever Jennifer Szilagyi. She retired Iona in order in the bottom of the sixth. Junior Marnie Skinner entered in relief of Zazzaro in the top of the seventh, stranding the runner she inherited at second base and keeping the Purple Eagles off the scoreboard.
 
Szilagyi would begin to lose her control in the seventh inning. After walking Marisa Gergel to lead off the inning, she ran the count full on Temple before striking her out. Szilagyi then walked Kimmie Chiapparelli and allowed a run-scoring single off the bat of Jessica Chilcott to make it a one-run game again. After DiGuilio reached on an error by the second baseman, Thompson sent Szilagyi's full-count offering over the fence in left centerfield to walk it off.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

• Iona's come-from-behind win today is the team's first conference postseason win since 2017.
• Thompson's grand slam was the first of her career. It was the first time since 2014 that the Gaels won on a walk-off grand slam (Kristen Turner vs. Marist).
• Iona's six and seventh batters in the order (DiGuilio and Thompson) combined for seven RBI on four hits.
• Zazzaro allowed two home runs in a start for the first time. The last time she allowed a HR before today was back on April 11 at Fairleigh Dickinson. 
• Iona scored 10 runs on 10 hits. Niagara's seven runs came with just four hits on the afternoon.
• The Purple Eagles were 0-7 with two outs against Iona pitching.
• Chilcott registered a multi-hit game in her first action since sitting out the final four games of the regular season.

UP NEXT

Iona will play the number one seed and host, Marist College, tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and can be followed via live stats. To purchase tickets for tomorrow's contest, click here.

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