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Iona University Athletics

Jamie Sheeran
Anthony Sorbellini
5
Winner Iona ION 11-7, 11-7 MAAC
3
Rider RID 11-10, 11-10 MAAC
Winner
Iona ION
11-7, 11-7 MAAC
5
Final
3
Rider RID
11-10, 11-10 MAAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 R H E
Iona ION 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 2 5 9 0
Rider RID 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 6 1

W: Zazzaro, Kara (10-2) L: Niegocki, J. (1-1)

6
Winner Iona ION 12-7, 12-7 MAAC
5
Rider RID 10-8, 10-8 MAAC
Winner
Iona ION
12-7, 12-7 MAAC
6
Final
5
Rider RID
10-8, 10-8 MAAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Iona ION 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 6 6 0
Rider RID 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 5 9 1

W: Zazzaro, Kara (11-2) L: Cal, J. (0-2)

Game Recap: Softball | | Jack Clark

Iona Softball Sweeps Rider on Saturday Afternoon

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ - The Iona College softball team swept Rider on Saturday afternoon at Herb & Joan Young Field. Junior Kara Zazzaro got the win in both contests and freshman Jamie Sheeran finished the day with six runs batted in.

GAME ONE: (IONA 5, RIDER 3)

The two starters dueled for the opening two innings, with the only hit coming from Ciarra DiGuilio. Zazzaro struck out four of the first batters she faced and would take to the circle with a lead in the third inning.

Debra Jones got two quick outs, but back-to-back two-out doubles by Jessica Chilcott and Natalia Meray gave the Gaels a 1-0 lead. That lead did not last very long. Caitlyn Danovich led off the bottom of the third with a homer to left, tying the game at one. The Broncs added to their lead later in the inning when Elena Gonzalez and Lani Moreno plated a pair of runs with two-out singles. Rider erased its deficit almost immediately and carried a 3-1 lead into the latter half of the ballgame.

Jones started to find her groove after being gifted the lead by her offense, retiring five straight batters before offering a free pass to Emma Capuano. Chilcott followed with a single through the box to put the tying run on base in the fifth, but Jones got Meray to fly out to right and end the inning.

Iona would break through in the sixth, tying things at 3-3 thanks to timely hitting and a couple of Rider miscues. Kaelene Walter began the inning with a single, moving up to third after a DiGuilio double to the opposite field. Brooklyn Trujillo-Quintana relieved Jones in a difficult situation, immediately throwing a wild pitch and allowing Walter to score. DiGuilio came home with the game-tying run on a Jamie Sheeran single. Haley Weaver pinch ran for Sheeran, moving up two bases on another wild pitch from Trujillo-Quintana. Alana Evans, pinch hitting for the Gaels, bounced out to third for the first out of the inning, keeping Weaver at bay for the moment. Brielle Hill pinch hit and tried to bunt her way on but popped it up back to the pitcher. Trujillo-Quintana stranded the go-ahead run by getting Kayla Haywood to strike out looking.

Zazzaro got two quick outs to start the sixth, but back-to-back two-out singles gave Rider a chance to take back the lead. Brianna Koonce flew out to end the inning, however. Iona had a prime chance of their own to regain the lead in the top of the seventh.

Capuano drew her second walk of the afternoon, moving into scoring position on yet another wild pitch from Trujillo-Quintana. Jesse Niegocki entered for the Broncs to face the top of the Iona order. Niegocki set Chilcott down on strikes for the first out, but walked Meray to put runners on first and second for Walter. She would load the bases with a single into left, but Niegocki escaped the jam after a brilliant defensive play at short by Kennedy Jarrard. DiGuilio lined one towards the middle of the diamond that Jarrard dove and caught, then flipped to second for the double play, ending Iona's rally in the blink of an eye.

Zazzaro set down the Broncs in order in the home half of the seventh, sending the game into extra innings. Iona tilted the score in its favor in the top of the eighth inning. Evans drew a walk in between the first two outs of the inning, advancing to third on Haywood's double off of the fence in center. A wild pitch, the bane of the Broncs' existence in game one, scored Evans and after the throw to the plate got away, Haywood scampered home to make it 5-3 in favor of Iona. Niegocki set Capuano down to end the inning, but not before the damage was done. Zazzaro continued to dominate, retiring the side in order in her eighth inning of work to secure the win for the Maroon & Gold. 

GAME TWO: (IONA 6, RIDER 5)

Rider broke the ice in game two, scoring twice off of Iona starter Alyssa DeJianne in the first inning. Kelsey Marigliano led things off with a walk and eventually came around to score the game's inaugural run on a Moreno single. DeJianne got the second out of the inning, but a wild pitch allowed a second run to score before she got Koonce to ground out.

Walter singled in Iona's half of the first inning before the Gaels fell behind, and it would be Iona's only hit until the fifth inning. Anna-Marie Groskrtiz was cruising for Rider up until the sixth inning, when Sheeran made her presence felt. Walter reached for the second time to start the frame, then trotted home after Sheeran hit her fifth homer of the year and tied the game at two. Groskrtiz exited after allowing the bomb, giving way to Jackie Cal in relief. Cal promptly walked the first batter she faced, Haywood, who scored all the way from first on a pinch-hit double by Alana Evans. Cal got the final two outs after that, but not before the Maroon & Gold grabbed a late lead.

DeJianne, who settled in nicely after a snafu in the first, registered the first out of the sixth inning after being given a lead. Grace Stansfield doubled down the line to force Iona head coach Katie Jansson to bring in Zazzaro to try and finish the game. Working in relief and into her ninth inning of work on Saturday, Zazzaro struck out Janae Weise looking for out number two. Rider's Chaela Crowder came up clutch, pinch hitting and driving home the game-tying run with two outs in the bottom of the sixth. Zazzaro got Jarrard to pop up to end the inning.

The top of the seventh was an adventure, to put it lightly. Iona loaded the bases with one out against Cal and in stepped Sheeran. Cal got Sheeran to bounce one to short that Jarrard fired home in time for what appeared to be the second out. After an on-field conversation between umpires and head coaches, all runners returned to their respective bases and Sheeran came back up to bat. She then smashed a liner into the left-center gap to clear the bases and give the Maroon & Gold a 6-3 lead. It was ruled that Sheeran's original at bat did not count because Rider had not reported the re-entry of its catcher after the prior half inning, thus allowing the Gaels to replay Sheeran's at bat. Jones entered in relief after the double, getting the final two outs of the wild inning.

Rider did not go down without a fight in its final turn at the dish, scoring twice and eventually stranding the game-tying run at second base. Zazzaro won her second game of the day and 11th of the season, helping Iona complete the sweep of Rider on Saturday afternoon in New Jersey.

NOTABLE NUGGETS

  • Rider's Marigliano entered play as the second toughest player to strike out this season behind Sara Jubas of James Madison (63 ABs, 0 Ks). Zazzaro struck out Marigliano in her first at bat of the afternoon, the first of the season for Marigliano in her 56th at bat.
  • Sheeran's five runs batted in are the most by a Gael in a game this season and the most by an Iona player since Tori Danner had five RBIs in a 6-0 win at Quinnipiac on April 13, 2018.
  • Evans' pinch-hit double in game two was her first hit since 2017 and the first extra-base hit of her career.
  • Chilcott extended her on-base streak to nine games and Sheeran's on-base streak reached eight straight contests.
  • Chilcott and Sheeran are now tied for the team lead with 16 runs batted in this season. DiGuilio (12) and Walter (10) are the other two Gaels with double-digit RBI totals this year.
  • Meray saw her nine-game hit streak come to an end after going 0-3 in the second game.
  • The sweep is the first for Iona since March 26 when the Gaels took two from Siena in Loudonville.
  • The Gaels are now tied with Manhattan and Siena for the most wins (12) in the MAAC. Iona's .632 win percentage is the highest among the three programs at the top of the table.

AROUND THE MAAC

  • Monmouth beat Marist in game one, coming back from down 2-0 to eventually win 4-3 in eight innings. The Hawks completed the sweep with a 4-1 victory in game two.
  • Manhattan squeaked by Niagara on the road, 5-4, in game one. Niagara salvaged a split of the doubleheader when Maggie Vesneske hit a walk off three-run homerun in game two. 
  • Quinnipiac survived a late rally by Saint Peter's to win game one 3-2. The Peacocks stranded the tying and winning runs in scoring position to end the game. The Bobcats took game two, 4-1, completing the sweep of Saint Peter's.

UP NEXT

Iona and Rider take to the diamond for another doubleheader tomorrow. First pitch is set for noon at Herb & Joan Young Field in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Fans can follow along via live stats and watch live on ESPN3.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Be sure to follow Iona College athletics on all social media platforms:
ICGaels: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube (E-Mail Updates)
Iona Softball: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube (E-Mail Updates) 



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