FAIRFIELD, CT – The Iona College softball team split its doubleheader at Fairfield on Saturday. The Gaels beat the Stags 5-3 in game one and dropped the second contest by a final score of 5-0.
GAME ONE: (IONA 5, FAIRFIELD 3)
It was a wonderful start for Iona on Saturday at Alumni Softball Field as
Jessica Chilcott led off the game with a solo homer to centerfield.
Natalia Meray followed up Chilcott's leadoff bomb with an infield single. Meray was forced out for the second out of the inning on
Ciarra DiGuilio's fielders choice and despite a two-out walk drawn by
Jamie Sheeran, the Gaels tallied just the one run in the frame.
Kara Zazzaro retired the first two batters she faced to begin the bottom half of the first inning, but allowed a single to Mikayla Rubin and then watched her lead disappear on Lacey Olaff's homer. Zazzaro would strike Drew Westford out looking to end the first.
Iona would tie things up and then re-grab the lead in the top of the third. Meray legged out another infield single to start things and ended up on third with one out after a sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch. DiGuilio brought Meray home with a single through the middle to tie the game at two. Sheeran followed with an opposite-field gapper, plating DiGuilio and chasing Rhinehart. Sam Lindsay entered in relief and got the final two outs, but not before the Maroon & Gold took a 3-2 lead.
Fairfield tied things back up after Sam Merino doubled, moved to third on a wild pitch and then raced home on another wild pitch by Zazzaro. The junior set down the next three batters after the basepaths were cleared.
Lindsay and Zazzaro registered 1-2-3 innings in the fourth and fifth, then Iona struck in the sixth. Lindsay seemed well on her way to another clean inning, but Iona's freshmen would spark a pivotal two-out rally.
Kaylin Flukey singled to right field, then
Alexis Bailey pinch hit and reached after being hit by the pitch.
Kayla Haywood worked a walk to load the bases and Chilcott delivered, as she has so many times in her career, singling to bring home two runs.
Zazzaro was handed her third lead of the game and did not relinquish it this time. She retired the next four batters before allowing back-to-back singles in the bottom of the seventh. Fairfield put the tying runs on base and Allie Bridgman stepped to the plate representing the winning run. Zazzaro got her to hit one to third that Meray scooped up, stepped on the bag and fired to first to end the game.
GAME TWO: (FAIRFIELD 5, IONA 0)
Chilcott drew a walk to lead off game two, but was forced to hang there after
Allie Taylor popped up a sacrifice attempt for out number one. Katie Kudlacik, who was the winning pitcher in game two at Iona earlier this week, struck
Kaelene Walter out swinging for out number two. DiGuilio moved Chilcott up 60 feet with a single into centerfield, but Sheeran went down swinging to conclude the opening frame.
Alyssa DeJianne set down the Stags in order in the bottom of the first, but would run into trouble in the second. Olaff doubled to begin the second and Fairfield would put two runners in scoring position after a single by Megan Forbes. She moved up to second on the throw from the outfield. Another single down the leftfield line brought home the game's first run. Later in the frame, DeJianne walked back-to-back batters, the second of which made it 2-0 in favor of Fairfield. Madison Robicheau grounded out to the right side to end the second inning.
Kudlacik registered strikeouts number five, six and seven as she cruised through the top of the third. She retired 13 straight Gaels before
Brielle Hill reached on an error to begin the sixth. Taylor followed that up with a single and the Gaels eventually moved the tying runs to second and third with two outs. Kudlacik got DiGuilio to roll over and ground out to the first baseman to end the threat.
DeJianne started to cruise as well, putting up three scoreless innings before laboring in the bottom of the sixth. Fairfield scored three runs in the sixth, the final blow being a triple by Forbes to make it 5-0.
Sheeran and Bailey reached to start the top of the seventh, but Kudlacik finished off the final three batters in order to secure a complete-game shutout win in game two.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Zazzaro went the distance in game one, scattering five hits and striking out eight. The junior is now 7-1 on the season and has six complete games.
- Kudlacik punched out 13 Gaels in a complete-game shutout in game two. She struck out 10 across five innings in Fairfield's win at Donald E. Walsh Field on Tuesday.
- Chilcott's round tripper started things off for Iona on Saturday and her two-run single later in the contest proved to be the game-winning hit.
- Flukey made her first start of her career in game one, going 1-3 at the dish with a run scored. Emma Capuano also made her first career start, going hitless with a run scored.
- Taylor started at third in game two for Iona, getting her first hit of the season in the loss.
- DeJianne, like Zazzaro, went the distance in her start. The loss was the rookie's second of the season.
- The shutout loss was Iona's first this season.
- Iona's eight wins so far this season are the most in the MAAC.
AROUND THE MAAC
- Canisius swept Manhattan, shutting out the Jaspers 2-0 in game number two.
- Rider earned a split at Siena after the Broncs won the second game 5-0.
UP NEXT
Iona heads back to New Rochelle, hosting Canisius for a pair of doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday's doubleheader begins at noon and Sunday's first pitch is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. at Donald E. Walsh Field.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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