Marist softball took a trip to Stephenville, Texas on Friday to participate in their first tournament of the season, the Texan Classic. The Red Foxes finished the tournament 4-1 with victories of 11-0, 5-1, 8-1 and 12-4 and a 9-1 five-inning defeat.
Again, lofty expectations are set for the program, which controlled much of the MAAC preseason poll. The Red Foxes earned 11 of 13 first-place votes and seven of the 11 Preseason All-MAAC selections derived from Poughkeepsie.
Most notably, senior infielder Miah McDonald is expected by her peers to build off a strong 2024 campaign as she was named the 2025 MAAC Preseason Player of the Year.
McDonald, who finished with an elite 387/.414/.824 last season, showed why she deserves the honor right away. The 2024 MAAC Player of the Year tallied 10 hits and eight RBIs in the inaugural tournament for a .625/.684/1.000, adding three stolen bases as well.
Graduate student pitcher Kiley Myers, redshirt junior infielder Haley Ahr, junior catcher Isabella Manory and senior pitcher/infielder Maddie Pleasants also shined in the Lone Star State while stepping on the diamond for the first time in 2025.
Myers appeared in three games, twirling two complete games and allowing a .178 batting average against in 12.1 innings pitched. Manory and Ahr went 6-for-12 in the tournament, culminating a 1.545 and 1.167 OPS respectively, while Pleasants finished with a .471 OBP and dazzled during her start in the circle.
In the first game of the tournament against Arkansas Pine-Bluff on Friday, McDonald reached safely in all four plate appearances and recorded three RBIs en route to an 11-0 five-inning run-rule victory.
Myers, the graduate student counterpart and 2024 MAAC Co-Pitcher of the Year, set the tone for Marist in the circle. Over five innings of work, Myers kept the Lions tamed, allowing just three hits and zero runs.
Offensively, leadoff hitter and junior outfielder Peyton Pusey immediately applied pressure on the defense to give Marist an early 1-0 lead. Last season, Pusey stole 19 bags in 2024 and logged a steal to begin 2025, allowing her to score.Â
The lead ballooned in the fourth inning; the Red Foxes scored seven runs, powered by two home runs off the bats of Manory and freshman infielder Sienna Kunze. Kunze went 3-5 in her first college game.
Manory’s three-run shot was one of two homers for the catcher in the tournament and Kunze’s first collegiate home run plated two runs, opening up a 10-0 Marist lead.
Myers’ third strikeout finished Arkansas Pine-Bluff and gave Marist their first win of the season.
2024 MAAC Rookie of the Year, sophomore pitcher/outfielder Anna Sidlowski, started the second game against McNeese State in a 9-1 loss. Sidlowski failed to see the same success in the circle as Myers.
Sidlowski, a 15-win and 2.47 ERA pitcher last season, never found a rhythm as the Cowboys attacked right away. Redshirt sophomore outfielder Nyjah Fontenot and junior infielder Jada Munoz doubled and tripled to begin the bottom of the first as McNeese State rattled off five runs.
Senior infielder Rylie Bouvier’s two-RBI double was part of the big first inning. Bouvier followed up with another double in the second that drove in three, totaling five RBIs and increasing McNeese State’s lead to 8-0 through two innings.
After an offensive explosion in game one, the Marist’s bats were quieted to four hits and the early deficit proved too much. A Marist split on the first day set up an intriguing test the next morning.
Following the run-rule defeat, Marist debuted their pinstripe jerseys on Saturday in a rematch against McNeese State. Pleasants toed the slab and provided a massive response, leading Marist to a 5-1 win. Last season, Pleasants struck out 57 batters in 65 innings pitched. In her first outing of 2025, the former MAAC Player of the Year punched out 11 in 6 â…” innings.
Pleasants was nearly untouchable, setting a career-high in single-game strikeouts, allowing one run on three hits and walking just two batters.
Ahr provided much of the offensive production to support Pleasants’ stellar outing, driving in three runs on two doubles. McDonald also recorded two doubles and Manory hit her second homer of the tournament, a solo shot in the fourth, as part of the vengeful 5-1 victory.
The Red Foxes faced tournament host, Tarleton State, following their second win of the season and sent Myers back to the circle for her second start. Marist controlled during the 8-1 rout but Myers dueled with freshman pitcher Shelby Schultz in the first four innings who produced seven strikeouts on the other side.
Marist got to Schultz in the first inning, tacking on three runs courtesy of Ahr, Pleasants and Manory RBIs but she settled in after that. The score remained 3-0 after four.
Senior Alexa Rehmeier relieved Schultz in the fifth inning and after striking out two in her first inning of relief, the Red Foxes shook up the senior in the sixth.
Senior utility Ronni Howard came up with the bases loaded after three straight walks and cleared them with a three-run double. Howard and Pusey came around to score on a McDonald single for a five-run inning, breaking the game wide open 8-1.
Myers cruised through seven innings for her second win of the season, allowing five hits, no walks and a single run while striking out four. In two starts, Myers shoved 12 innings of one-run ball, adding six strikeouts to one walk.
The Red Foxes closed the tournament with a 12-4 victory against Bucknell on Sunday morning. In a game with 25 total hits, McDonald tripled in the first inning and scored on Pleasants’ first of three hits of 2025, giving Marist an early lead.
Bison’s sophomore outfielder Shea Malone spoiled freshman pitcher Emma Bayor’s debut in the circle, doubling in two runs and giving Bucknell a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the third. Bayor struck out three but also allowed five hits in 2 ⅔ innings.
Marist responded in the fifth inning, putting the ball in play and pressuring Bucknell’s defense. Effective Red Fox small ball and Bison’s defensive lapses resulted in five hits and seven runs in the inning, capped off by McDonald’s second triple of the game, extending Marist’s lead 8-2.
Sidlowski relieved Baylor in the third inning and allowed two runs over 4 â…” innings of relief along with four free passes.
Marist tacked on four insurance runs, including a Texas-sized no-doubt solo homer off the bat of sophomore outfielder Samantha Rogers, who quietly had a great tournament. In four starts, Rogers had five hits and four walks for a .455/.600/.727 and 1.327 OPS.
Sidlowski closed the door of a 12-4 Marist victory, putting the Red Foxes three games above .500 to begin the year in a 4-1 tournament performance.
Marist’s next weekend stay will be in Conway, SC for another five-game tournament starting Friday, Feb. 14 at 9:30 a.m.
Edited by Dan Aulbach and Cara Lacey
Photo from Gavin Hard
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