On a cold, windy and wet Saturday, Marist softball hosted Lehigh University for an out-of-conference doubleheader.
The Mountain Hawks (20-14, 9-0 Patriot League) traveled to Poughkeepsie looking to keep their 10-game win streak alive, and they did just that by defeating the Red Foxes (26-11, 8-3 MAAC) 5-0 in the first game, and 12-5 in the second.
The Lehigh dugout was loud from the first pitch. Singing, clapping and yelling trying to get inside of the Red Foxes’ head. The noise was not distracting to junior utility player Maddie Pleasants, who remained focused on the game and her job at hand.
The game remained scoreless until the sixth inning with both teams fighting hard to be the first ones on the scoreboard. The Red Foxes were able to get on base but were not able to maintain momentum throughout the lineup.
At the top of the fifth, both Pleasants and Lehigh senior pitcher Katelyn Young had only allowed two hits each. Young leads the Lehigh pitching team in wins, innings pitched and strikeouts.
Things would change for Pleasants in the sixth when freshman Peyton Sward got things started up for the Mountain Hawks by recording the first hit of the inning. Sward leads Lehigh with a .386 batting average.
She was sent to second by the following batter, graduate student Josie Charles, who bunted. Freshman outfielder Gracie Smith was next at bat, and made the bases loaded with a base hit. Within what seemed like seconds the bases were loaded, and Marist had no outs.
Graduate student outfielder Emily Cimino took her base off of a wonky pitch from Pleasants that hit her in the arm, allowing the first score of the game.
With the bases still loaded and two outs freshman infielder Holly Lovett singled up the middle bringing in two more runs for Lehigh.
Junior infielder Julia Mrochko doubled to right center, scoring two more runs for the Mountain Hawks. Lehigh blew the game open in the sixth, leading Marist by five.
The Red Foxes recorded no runs in the team’s 5-0 loss extending Lehigh’s win streak to 11.
“We didn’t get timely hits when we needed them. I thought we had some really good at-bats, we hit a couple of good balls that I think another day are home runs,” said head coach Joe Ausanio.
To start the second game freshman Anna Sidlowski started pitching for the Red Foxes. Sidlowski had won four straight starts – this game ended that streak.
With runners on second and third, junior Rory Dudley stepped up to bat for Lehigh. Sidlowski’s first pitch was a wild one that snuck past freshman catcher Rowan Drew, allowing both runners to advance to give Lehigh the early lead. Dudley would go on to single up the middle bringing Camino home. The top of the first ended with two runs and three hits for the Mountain Hawks.
Sophomore Chloe Hess began in the circle for Lehigh in the second game. With freshman outfielder Anderson Taylor on second and two outs, redshirt sophomore utility player Haley Ahr was up to bat for Marist. Ahr is ranked 28th in the NCAA for batting average (.386) and had homered in two of her last three games. Ahr hit deep into right field, but the ball was caught, keeping Marist off the scoreboard.
The score would remain 2-0 Lehigh until the bottom of the second when junior outfielder Kaitlyn Husic hit a home run to left field.
“We went down, came back and scored, went down again, came back and scored, and that’s the sign of a good team,” said Ausanio. “You are resilient you come back, and you get those hits.”
The top of the third would be a fast one for Sidlowski, with two batters grounding out to third and one to second.
The bottom of the third began with a base hit from sophomore utility Lauren Morrell to bring the Red Foxes to the top of the order. Anderson was caught swinging then senior utility player Miah McDonald hit one right up the middle translating into a double play to bring the game into the fourth.
Lehigh was able to go on a run in the fourth. This time the momentum came from Mrochko, who got the Mountain Hawks started in the fourth, singling to the right side. Senior catcher Amanda Greaney then came up to bat and hit a single straight to the freshman infielder Samantha Rogers, who couldn’t control the ball allowing both runners to advance to first and second.
Sward who got things started for Lehigh in the first game now came back up to bat, and she started yet another push for the Mountain Hawks; she singled down the third base line and then advanced to second off of a throwing error by McDonald. Two runners scored, extending Lehigh’s lead to 4-1.
With runners on second and third, Smith doubled down the left-field line sending both runners home. Cimino was up next and doubled to right field, Smith went home and the Lehigh lead extended to six.
With the score 7-1, Sidlowski gets replaced by junior pitcher Isabella Milazzo. Milazzo struck out her first batter swinging, but the Lehigh hitting remained consistent. With two outs Dudley walked, placing runners on first and third. During Lovett’s at-bat, Milazzo threw a wild pitch that was dropped by Drew, allowing a steal at second and home.
“You can’t give good teams extra outs and if you do they make you pay and that’s what happened,” said Ausanio.
Morrel got Marist back within seven runs with a three-run home run, but that wouldn’t be enough for the Red Foxes to get back within reach.
Marist will look to get back in the win column next Saturday with a home doubleheader against Iona. The first game is slotted to start at noon.
Edited by Ben Leeds
Graphic by Cara Lacey; Photo from Jaylen Rizzo
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