FAIRFIELD ,CT - The Iona University softball team split a doubleheader with Fairfield on Saturday afternoon.
Kara Zazzaro pitched a complete game in the opener to lead Iona to victory, but the Stags salvaged a split with a 1-0 win in game two.
GAME ONE: IONA 3, FAIRFIELD 2
Iona started the scoring in the first inning, loading the bases with nobody out after the first three batters reached. Kenadie Gonzalez was hit by a pitch, earning an RBI and giving Iona and starter Kara Zazzaro an early one-run advantage. Fairfield's Allie Bridgman would escape the jam and limit the damage to just one run by stranding the bases loaded.
Zazzaro made quick work of the Stags in the bottom of the first, but relinquished the lead in the second frame. After retiring the first two hitters, Haley Updegraff jumped on a pitch and tied the game at 1-1 with a solo shot down the right field line. Fairfield had a golden chance to take a lead in the bottom of the third, but Zazzaro stranded a pair of runners in scoring position to keep the score level.
Back-to-back singles to open the top of the fourth put Gaels on the corners before Brianna Bailey swiped second to move into scoring position. Emma Capuano plated the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly to center. Bailey was later cut down trying to score on a first-and-third steal play for the second out of the frame. The Maroon & Gold added another run on a Hannah Werth single, but saw a second runner cut down at the plate, ending the inning.
Staked to a two-run lead, Zazzaro set the side down in order in the next two innings before conceding a run in the bottom of the sixth. She would work around a two-out single in the seventh inning to secure the game-one win in complete-game fashion for Iona.
GAME TWO: FAIRFIELD 1, IONA 0
Samantha Rieb drew the start in game two, tossing four shutout innings before conceding a run in the fifth. It would stand as the only tally in the contest, resulting in a tough loss for Rieb and the Maroon & Gold.
Both sides put a runner on in the first inning, but neither advanced further than second base. After both teams were retired in order in the second, Destiny Nardello led off the third inning with a double for Iona. Nardello would eventually be tagged out between second and third for the second out in what turned out to be a scoreless inning for Iona.
Fairfield would break through in the fifth, courtesy of a two-out single through the left side of the infield. Rieb would escape the jam with just the one run scoring, stranding a pair of runners in scoring position. The Maroon & Gold left the tying run on base to end the sixth and in the seventh, saw the game end on line-drive, double-play.
UP NEXT
Iona returns to action next weekend, facing Manhattan on the road (Saturday, April 29) before hosting Saint Peter's (Sunday, April 30) in a pair of doubleheaders.
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