MACON, GA - The Iona College softball team fell to Mercer, 9-1, in six innings at Sikes Field on Friday evening. The Gaels and Bears were even at 1-1 after five and half innings, but an eight-run bottom of the sixth for the home team ended Iona's night early.
GAME SUMMARY
Kara Zazzaro made her sixth start of the season, working around a leadoff walk to toss a scoreless first inning. Iona's first four batters were retired to begin the evening, but Hannah Collins drew a walk to become the Gaels' first base runner of the game. Alexis Bailey and Morgan Ritchey were retired to end the inning and leave Collins on base.
A pair of free passes in the bottom of the second put a runner in scoring position for Mercer. Zazzaro induced a grounder and then registered a strikeout to end the inning. Haley Weaver notched Iona's first hit in the top of the third, turning the lineup over with one away. She swiped second base, but was stranded in scoring position after reaching second with one out.
After a scoreless first three frames, Mercer got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. The Bears hit back-to-back doubles to begin the inning, then a wild pitch and a base on balls put runners on the corners with no outs. Mercer ran itself out of an inning, beginning with a caught stealing for the first out followed by a 5-3-2 double play. Iona cut down what would have been the second run to escape the inning with limited damage.
The Gaels headed right back out to the field defensively after a 1-2-3 fifth inning at the dish. Mercer could not build upon its lead, and Iona would even things in the sixth for Zazzaro. Things looked bleak after the first two hitters were retired, but Jessica Chilcott reached on an error to keep the inning alive. An error in right field on a ball put in play by Natalia Meray brought Chilcott around to score the tying run. Jamie Sheeran went down on strikes to end the inning.
After surrendering the lead in the late going, Mercer responded magnificently. The Bears piled it on the Gaels in the bottom of the sixth, chasing Zazzaro and eventually walking it off due to the mercy rule. An eight-run frame ended game one of the Mercer Bears Classic at Sikes Field.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Weaver was responsible for Iona's lone hit of the game. She also stole her fifth base of the season and remains perfect on attempts this year.
- Chilcott and Meray both reached on errors, the latter of which allowed Iona to score its only run. The run was Chilcott's team-leading fifth of the season thus far.
- Zazzaro was tagged for eight runs on five hits across 5.2 innings of work on Friday night. She walked 11 batters and struck out eight.
UP NEXT
Iona plays two more at the Mercer Bears Classic, facing off with Stetson at 1:00 p.m. and then playing Mercer immediately after. The Gaels' game against Mercer will be streamed live on ESPN+ and fans can follow along live using live stats.
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)
