POUGHKEEPSIE, NY - The Iona University baseball team earned a split with Marist on Friday afternoon at McCann Baseball Field. Eight Gaels drove in a runner in Iona's 13-7 come from behind victory in the first game but Marist managed to salvage the second game of the doubleheader, winning 5-1.
GAME ONE: IONA 13, MARIST 7
Marist jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the first inning but the Gaels managed to climb back into the game in the third. RBI singles from
Jake Field,
Luca Lotito and
Jim Pasquale brough Iona within a run trailing, 4-3. Iona leveled the score in the ensuing inning following an RBI single from
Anthony Zollo that scored
Chris Mariani on the hit.
Marist reclaimed the lead scoring three runs in the fourth but Iona responded, scoring nine unanswered runs across the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. Trailing 7-5, Zollo tied the game with an RBI double and
Will Jennings capped the Gaels five-run fifth inning, scoring the go-ahead run on an RBI single that gave Iona an 8-7 lead.
For the second straight inning Iona loaded up the bases and
Nick Forney drew an RBI walk followed by a run-scoring single off the bat of Mariani. Pasquale drove in Iona's final two runs in the seventh inning on a two-run RBI single, extending the Gaels lead to 13-7.
Joey Kasper came in relief and pitched over four scoreless innings on his way to earning his first win of the season. Kasper only allowed three baserunners while picking up three strikeouts in his relief appearance. Kasper ended the ballgame with one his three strikeouts, securing Iona's 13-7 victory in game one.
GAME TWO: MARIST 5, IONA 1
Marist opened up the scoring in game two on a second inning home-run from Justin Kapuscinski. After allowing the homer
Carl Kuentzel dialed back in on the mound, retiring nine out the next 11 hitters he faced but soon after, Dylan Hoy clubbed a two-run homer to extend the Red Foxes lead to 3-0.
Iona got a run back in the sixth following an opposite field RBI single from Field that scored
Nickolas Mora on the play, but the Gaels wouldn't convert anymore runs, stranding two runners on base in the inning. Marist added to their lead with single runs in the sixth and eighth inning to open up a 5-1 advantage entering the final frame.
Consecutive singles from Lotito and Forney gave the Gaels an opportunity in the ninth to rally but Marist closed the deal with a game-ending strikeout to secure the doubleheader split from McCann Baseball Field.
UP NEXT
The series finale between the Gaels and Red Foxes will be played at 9:00 AM on Sunday, April 30th.
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