RIVERDALE, NY — The Iona University Softball team extended its winning streak to three in a row after taking down Manhattan on Friday afternoon. The Gaels earned a 4-0 shutout in game one before coming out on top in a 9-7 extra innings battle over the Jaspers at Gaelic Park.
The Maroon & Gold offense totaled 27 hits on the day with eight multi-hit games. Senior
Brianna Fischer, sophomore
Sara Piña and rookie
Rachael Morales led with four hits between the two contests. Rookie
Melissa Gordon spun a one-hit shutout in the opener. Sophomore
Addie Smith jumpstarted the three-run eighth inning in game two with her first home run as a Gael.
With the two wins and results from around the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference today, Iona clinched a spot in the 2026 MAAC Softball Championship field. The tournament will be hosted by regular season champions Marist from May 6-9.
GAME ONE: IONA 4, MANHATTAN 0
Offense was quite in the opener with Iona recording two hits through the first two innings while Manhattan tallied its lone hit of the contest on a leadoff single in the bottom of the second. The Gaels first hit of the contest by senior
Alivia Lichtner was the 100
th hit of her career.
Iona got rolling in the third as senior
Hannah Werth led off with a double to center field. Morales then stepped to the plate and lined an RBI double to right center before moving to third on the throw home. After a groundout, Piña lifted the sacrifice fly to right field for the 2-0 ledger.
Scoring remained quite till the top of the seventh as Lichtner led things off with a triple to right center. Piña then drove her in on an RBI double to left field. She advanced to third on a single from senior
Hailey Guerrero. Fischer made it a 4-0 advantage with an RBI single to center field.
Gordon was flawless in the circle, issuing just one walk in the final five innings while recording three strikeouts. She completed her second solo shutout of the season in just 90 pitches.
GAME TWO: IONA 9, MANHATTAN 7 (8 inn.)
The Gaels carried things over to game two as Lichtner was hit by a pitch then stole second base. Piña got Iona on the scoreboard with another RBI double to left center.
Manhattan punched back in the bottom of the first with a one-out two-run home run to get on the scoreboard and take its first lead of the day.
Iona answered in the top of the second as senior
Brooke Acker led off with a double down the left field line. After back-to-back outs, Morales stepped to the dish and lined an RBI double to right field to knot the game up at 2-2.
The Jaspers countered the next half inning with a one-out RBI double to center field. Looking to tack on more runs with runners on second and third, junior
Allison Hoppe ended the inning with a strikeout and foul out to escape the frame.
Offense continued to flow in the top of the third for the Gaels as Piña led off with an infield single. After a pop out, Fischer delivered a two-run home run to left field to take back the lead at 4-3.
The scoreboard was quiet the next two frames as Iona stranded runners in scoring position in the fourth and fifth innings.
Manhattan utilized another two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth, this time with two outs to jump back in front 5-4. The Jaspers then looked for insurance runs in the sixth with a runner at third and one out. Morales caught the fly out and made a stellar throw to the plate to get the inning ending double play.
Iona looked for one more rally in the top of the seventh as momentum shifted over. Guerrero and Acker opened the inning with back-to-back singles before sliding to second and third after a wild pitch. Sophomore
Jovanna Donaruma lifted the sacrifice fly to center field to tie the game up. Werth then delivered an RBI single to right field to take a 6-5 lead.
Manhattan down to its final two outs worked the bases loaded. The Jaspers would tie the game up on an RBI hit by pitch. Hoppe evaded trouble with a fly out and ground out back to the circle to take the game into extra innings.
The Gaels rally started with one out as Smith went first pitch swinging and launched a solo home run over the left field fence to take back the lead. Back-to-back doubles followed from Fischer and Guerrero for the second run of the frame. After a fly out moved Guerrero to third, Donaruma delivered the RBI double to left center for the 9-6 lead.
Manhattan opened the bottom of the eighth with a double to left center. After back-to-back outs, the Jaspers made it a two-run game on an RBI double to center field. Hoppe remained poised with a game ending strikeout to seal the doubleheader sweep.
The right hander pitched six and two thirds for the Gaels, yielding six runs on ten hits and four walks while striking out five batters. Junior
Bella DiGiandomenico pitched an inning and a third in relief.
UP NEXT
The Gaels are fighting for seeding in the 2026 MAAC Softball Championship in the 2026 regular season finale set for noon at Manhattan.
