LOUDONVILLE, NY - The Iona College softball team split its doubleheader at Siena on Friday afternoon. The Gaels fell in 12 innings in the first game of the day, but earned a split with a 4-1 victory in the nightcap.
GAME ONE: SIENA 7, IONA 6
The Gaels threatened in the opening frame on Friday, but failed to score after Emma Capuano was thrown out at home for the final out. Capuano had reached third after a base on balls, a stolen base and a passed ball. After Jessica Chilcott drew a walk, she attempted a steal of second and that's when Capuano was cut down trying to score on the throw down.
Samantha Rieb, starting game one for the Gaels, worked around a lead-off single and stranded a runner at third to notch a clean opening inning. She stranded two more runners in the second inning to keep things scoreless after two full frames.
Iona would strike first, courtesy of Capuano's second homer of the season. With two outs in the third, Jamie Sheeran singled and Capuano brought her home with a shot to left. The lead did not last long though; Siena answered back with two runs to tie it in the home half of the third.
In her next turn at bat, Capuano drove in her third run of the game with an opposite-field single to put the Gaels in front again. The Maroon & Gold would strand the bases loaded though, missing out on an opportunity for a couple insurance markers.
This time around, Rieb made quick work of the Saints in the bottom half after being staked to a lead. Siena rallied to tie it in the bottom of the sixth however, courtesy of two errors on the same play on Iona's infield.
Iona loaded the bases in the top of the seventh with one out, but could not cash in any runs late in the game. Rieb held off Siena to send the contest to extra innings, Iona's fifth extra-inning affair of 2022.
The first run-scoring opportunity of extra innings came in the bottom of the ninth with two outs. A two-out single to center field led to a play at the plate, with Chilcott and Sheeran teaming up to cut down the potential game-winning run to send the game to the 10th inning in Loudonville.
Singles from Chilcott and Kayla Haywood in the top of the tenth went by the wayside after Natalia Meray flew out and Morgan Ritchey grounded out to short. Maddy Lowry entered in relief of Rieb after a lead-off walk in the tenth, stranding her inherited runner and sending the contest to an 11th inning.
Iona finally broke through in the top of the 12th inning, scoring three times in the frame. The Gaels first three batters reached and Haywood clutched up with a two-RBI single to make it 5-3 with still no one out in the inning. Ritchey put a ball in play, reaching on a fielder's choice and seeing another run come across after a throwing error. With two more ducks on the pond and one out, Siena's reliever shut the door and stopped the bleeding for the Saints.
A lead-off single in the bottom of the 12th ended Lowry's day; she was relieved by Alyssa DeJianne. Siena hit back-to-back doubles to cut the deficit to one run. A foul out became the first out of the frame, but a single to center plated the tying run. Siena eventually loaded the bases with just one out, winning the first game of the afternoon in walk-off fashion on a sacrifice fly to right field.
GAME TWO: IONA 4, SIENA 1
Following a marathon first game, both offenses went quietly in the first inning of game two. Capuano notched her fourth hit of the afternoon in the first for Iona, but was left on base to end the frame. Zazzaro walked the first batter she faced, but promptly set the next three down on strikes to open the day on a high note.
The Gaels' first two runners reached to start the second, but Patille retired the next three to keep things scoreless in the second. Zazzaro stranded a pair of runners to match her counterpart in the home half of the second.
Capuano hit a one-out single in the third, her fifth hit of the afternoon, but it was Iona's only offense in the frame. A walk and a wild pitch put a Saint in scoring position with less than two outs in the bottom of the third, but Zazzaro induced a pair of grounders to get out of the jam.
Runs came for both sides in the fifth, with Iona starting the party in the top of the inning. Allie Taylor came around to score on Sheeran's eighth home run of the season, putting Iona ahead 2-0. Staked to a two-run lead, Zazzaro loaded the bases with one out in the following frame. She walked home a run to cut Iona's lead in half, but a grounder to Meray turned into two outs after she tagged out the runner heading for third and fired home for the final out of the inning, preserving the Gaels' lead.
The Maroon & Gold filled the bases with one out in the sixth, forcing Patille out of the game. Romano came in out of the pen to face Meray, who bunted and reached base, scoring Iona's third run. Sheeran worked a bases-loaded walk to push Iona's lead to 4-1, registering her third run batted in of the contest.
Zazzaro worked around a base hit in the sixth and retired the Saints in order in the seventh to secure a game-two victory for the Gaels after a heartbreaking loss in the opener.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Zazzaro tossed her 12th complete game of the season in the game two win, improving to 8-7 on the season. She scattered four hits, walked seven batters, allowed one run and struck out seven.
- Sheeran tied Chilcott for the team lead in homers with her eighth of the season in game two. Sheeran was responsible for three of Iona's four runs in the second game.
- Capuano finished the day 5-9 at the dish across the two games, driving in a career-best three runs in the game one loss. Her three-hit game in the opener was her third such game this season and she followed it up with two hits in game two, her fourth multi-hit game of the season.
- Chilcott notched a hit in game one and reached on a fielder's choice in game two, extending her reached base streak to a team-leading 16 straight contests.
- Rieb worked a career-high nine innings in game one, allowing three runs on 12 hits and three walks.
UP NEXT
Iona hosts Manhattan on Saturday, April 16 in the 2022 home opener. The Gaels and Jaspers are scheduled to begin the doubleheader at noon, which will be streamed live on ESPN3.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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