The number eight seed Marist Red Foxes took on the number six seed Manhattan Jaspers in the MAAC conference tournament. The winner of the game advanced to the MAAC championship. Once again, the Red foxes were the lower seed and the underdogs coming into the game.
Marist trotted out junior pitcher Calista Phippen for the second straight game, she was flawless in Thursday’s game against Canisius and brought the same energy today. With it being 0-0 until the 4th the Red Foxes needed to get their star pitcher some run support.
Sophomore Sam Freeland led off the inning with a single, then a few batters later Manhattan’s defense collapsed by committing a throwing error to allow sophomore Shea Walsh to reach base. With a man on second and third base, freshman Miah Mcdonald bunted which resulted in a single and allowed Freeland to come in and score. This gave the Red Foxes a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the 4th the Jaspers answered Marist, after getting the first out Manhattan hit three singles in a row to load the bases. Then graduate student Christine Gebhardt hit a single to drive in one Jasper to tie up the game at one apiece. Phippen was able to pitch around the Jaspers with the bases loaded and limited the damage to only one run.
It was a pitching duel between Phippen and the Jaspers graduate student Nicole Williams. The game remained 1-1 after 8 innings. In the bottom of the 9th, Manhattan broke the tie following a single from junior Annie Moore with runners on base, she gave the Jaspers a 2-1 lead.
Phippen threw 145 pitches, gave up one run while striking out seven. Williams threw 127 pitches and struck out 12 leading them to victory.
With the loss to Manhattan, the Red Foxes then faced Canisius College in a win or go home game. With high stakes on the line, sophomore pitcher Megan Haff took the mound in game two for the Red Foxes.
Much like the first game of the day, it was a pitching duel. Canisius scored their only run of the game in the second inning off a solo home run by junior infielder Hannah Catallo-Stooks.
The Red Foxes struggled to generate offense, garnering only two hits in the entire game. The star of the game was Canisius’s senior pitcher Emily Nicosia who pitched a complete game shutout while having seven strikeouts in the process.
Canisius got revenge on the Red Foxes after losing 5-0 in Thursday’s match. The Red Foxes finished the 2021 season 15-13 while Canisius improved to 26-13 and a berth in the MAAC tournament finals.
The MAAC conference championship is slated for Sunday afternoon with the sixth seeded Manhattan College vs the second seed Canisius College.
Edited by Nick Stanziale
Photo from Marist College Athletics