Coming into the Red and Black Classic, Marist softball sat two games under .500. Upon the departure of their weekend stay in Boiling Springs, North Carolina, the Red Foxes improved their overall record to 6-4.
Marist dropped the first game but rattled off four straight wins at the Red and Black Classic, including head coach Joe Ausanio’s milestone 400th career win. Over his 16-year tenure, Ausanio’s overall record comfortably sits above .500 while touting a sterling 160-102 MAAC conference record.
His team struggled in game one of the weekend tournament against Lindenwood University, mustering just three hits against graduate student pitcher Amanda Weyh. Whey went the distance, shutting out the Red Foxes and striking out six.
Graduate student pitcher Kiley Myers also went the distance, providing a solid eight strikeouts in her outing, but Marist gave Myers zero offensive support. After two runs scored following an error by senior utility Alyssa Grupp in the first inning, the Lions coasted the rest of the game. Sophomore infielder Tori Hatton tacked on two RBIs, including a solo home run, to defeat Marist 5-0.
The Red Foxes bounced back in game two with freshman Anna Sidlowski in the circle. Sidlowski matched Myers, going seven complete innings of three-run softball against Hampton University. Marist put up crooked numbers in three different innings, including a five-run fifth.
The Red Foxes strung together six hits in the fifth, starting with sophomore outfielder Peyton Pusey at the top of the lineup. Pusey hit .438 AVG with a 1.089 OPS and crossed the plate nine times during the tournament, earning her the MAAC Player of the Week award.
Pusey doubled and scored after senior utility Miah McDonald doubled. The captain was followed up by junior pitcher/utility Maddie Pleasants singling to center, redshirt sophomore infielder Haley Ahr driving in another run with a double, a Grupp RBI triple and a single from freshman catcher Roman Drew. All told, five runs were scored in the inning.
The fifth-inning explosion along with six Hampton errors propelled Marist to a 10-3 victory to end the Friday slate.
The next day, Marist faced Hampton again, this time defeating them 7-4, but not without the Pirates putting up a fight.
Hampton held a three-run lead in the bottom of the sixth with Sidlowski making an appearance as a pinch-hitter. She doubled in two runs to bring Marist within one run and her fellow freshman, outfielder Taylor Anderson, singled to tie the game at 4-4.
Pusey put an exclamation point on the six-run inning, stealing home to put Marist ahead 7-4 in the sixth. After Pleasants gave up two earned runs in six solid innings, Myers tallied two strikeouts in her seventh-inning relief appearance to secure the win.
The Red Foxes obtained win number 400 for Ausanio in the second Saturday game against Gardner-Webb University behind a first-inning Pleasants two-RBI single and a complete game shutout from Myers in the circle.
Myers initially faced trouble byloading the bases in the third but got a ground-out to end the inning. Following the third inning, Myers retired all but one batter to lead Marist in a 3-0 win.
The Red Foxes finished the tournament on Sunday with their fourth straight victory, a 6-2 win over Gardner-Webb. Sidlowski once again threw a complete game, allowing two runs on 10 hits and striking out six. In all three of the freshman’s starts in the circle, Sidlowski has gone the distance.
Through ten games, Marist’s 1-5 hitters in the lineup have dominanted. Pusey, McDonald, Pleasants, Ahr and Grupp all boast an OPS over .930. In the Sunday victory, Pusey finished 2-4 and hit a double, McDonald went 2-2 and legged out a triple, Pleasants hit an RBI double, Ahr had a double and three RBIs and Grupp finished 2-4 with a double.
The rest of the lineup is struggling offensively to begin the season; graduate student outfielder Sophia Recrosio was missed this weekend as the ninth hitter in the lineup.
Defensively, sophomore catcher Isabella Manory has already thrown out five runners, which is already more than half the amount of runners she caught stealing all last year (9). The team has accumulated 15 total errors, costing the pitching staff six unearned runs; Pleasants and Sidlowski have also struggled with walks but, early on, they have found their way out of trouble.
The Red Foxes carry their four-game winning streak into Norfolk, Virginia for the Norfolk State Tournament. Notably, Central Connecticut State University is undefeated to start their season, including a four-game sweep against MAAC opponent Saint Peter’s. Marist will face a good test in the Blue Devils among others in the five-game tournament.
The first pitch of the tournament is scheduled for Friday, March 1 at 3 p.m. against Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Edited by Cara Lacey
Graphic by Cara Lacey; Photo from Marist Athletics
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