NASHVILLE, TN — The Iona University softball team took one of two from Lipscomb in a doubleheader on Friday afternoon. The Gaels held on for a 2-1 win in game one before falling 9-0 in six innings in game two at Draper Diamond.
GAME ONE: IONA 2, LIPSCOMB 1
It was a pitching duel early as the Gaels were held to just two hits in the first five innings of play on a leadoff single by sophomore
Hailey Guerrero in the third and leadoff base knock from senior
Emma Capuano.
Senior
Alyssa DeJianne surrendered four hits to the Bisons and escaped threats with runners on third in the second and fifth innings.
Freshman
Leah Palmer led off the sixth inning with a single down the left field line. She would advance to third after a sacrifice bunt and flyout to right field. Senior
Kayla Haywood then stepped to the plate and lined an RBI single to right field for the 1-0 Iona lead.
Sophomore
Brooke Acker led off the top of the seventh inning with a single up the middle. Sophomore
Alivia Lichtner came in to pinch run and stole second. She would score on a two-out single by freshman
Madison Campeau skipped past the glove of Lipscomb's center fielder for the 2-0 lead.
Lipscomb worked two runners on in the bottom of the seventh and would score one run on a sacrifice bunt that tripped up the Gaels at first to bring the score to 2-1. Sophomore
Maddy Lowry settled in and picked up a strikeout and groundout to end the game and give Iona the victory.
Six different batters contributed a hit for the Maroon & Gold in the win. DeJianne went 6 innings in the circle for her first win of the season. Lowry picked up her first career save for the Gaels.
GAME TWO: LIPSCOMB 9, IONA 0 (6 Inn.)
Iona looked to keep things rolling in the start of game two as sophomore
Hannah Werth led off the game with a single up the middle. Iona picked up back-to-back walks by Capuano and Haywood to load the bases. Lipscomb made a pitching change immediately and retired the next three batters in order on strikeouts to escape the inning.
The Bisons got runners on first and second with two outs in the bottom of the first then proceeded to rattle off four runs on three hits to take a 4-0 lead.
Lipscomb added to its lead in the third inning with a one-out sacrifice fly and then an Iona error on a first and third steal to jump out in front 6-0.
Iona looked to put a rally together in the fourth as Acker and Guerrero picked up back-to-back one out singles. The home team evaded trouble with two straight fielder's choices to nab the lead runner at third to end the inning.
Iona was held hitless in the final two innings of play by the Bisons. A solo home run in the fifth and a two-run double secured the run rule win and doubleheader split for Lipscomb.
NOTABLE NUGGETS
- Acker and Capuano have recorded a hit in three straight games for the Gaels.
- Guerrero went 2-for-4 in the doubleheader.
- Iona has earned a split in all three instances the team has played two contests in a single day this season.
UP NEXT
The Gaels conclude the trip down in Nashville on Saturday with a doubleheader at Belmont. First pitch has been pushed back to 3:30 p.m. eastern due to inclement weather in the forecast tomorrow morning.