Marist softball packed their bags to Conway, South Carolina for a highly anticipated weekend against high-quality competition. The Red Foxes (7-2) won three straight, walking off a 6-3 win against Kent State, shutting out Notre Dame 6-0 and outlasting Towson 13-9 in extra innings.
Marist was without redshirt junior infielder Haley Ahr and junior outfielder Ava Hampton for the weekend due to injuries; graduate student infielder Miah McDonald, junior catcher Isabella Manory and graduate student pitcher Kiley Myers all provided plenty in their absences throughout the weekend.
McDonald finished the tournament 6-14 with two home runs, Manory was 6-12, smacked three home runs and collected nine RBIs and Myers tossed 10 innings, including a seven-inning complete game shutout against the Fighting Irish.
“I couldn’t have been more excited about that [Notre Dame win]. I think moving forward it’s something that we can build on, knowing that we can compete with any team in the country,” said Marist head coach Joe Ausanio.
“If you told me we were going to be 7-2 to start our season, I would have been jumping up and down. I think we have a chance to have a very special year if we can stay healthy and get some people back on the field who are key contributors to our offense and our team. If we can do that, I feel really good about us making a run,” said Ausanio
In the first of two games on Friday, the Red Foxes were the beneficiaries of two home runs off the bat of Manory against Kent State. Both of Manory’s homers in the 6-3 win brought in four RBIs; her second blast was a walk-off in the bottom of a four-run seventh inning.
Their first walk-off win of the season was powered by the battery of Manory and senior pitcher and infielder Maddie Pleasants.
Kent State tallied the first three runs of the game in the fourth inning, including Golden Flashes senior utility Katie Jo Moery’s two-RBI single. After falling behind 3-0, Pleasants and Manory went back-to-back in the bottom of the inning, closing the gap to 3-2.
The score remained heading into the bottom of the seventh as Pleasants was dominant outside of the fourth inning. She allowed a single hit in the six other frames of her complete game victory and struck out six.
Still trailing in the seventh, the Red Foxes’ top-of-the-lineup came to bat. Junior outfielder Peyton Pusey singled and McDonald walked to set up Pleasants with a game-tying opportunity.
Pleasants came up big again, as she had all game, singling home Pusey and giving Manory the stage to walk it off. Manory’s white-hot start continued; her fourth home run sent the Red Foxes into a frenzy as they mobbed their catcher at the plate.
“I’m really proud of [Manory], she’s really stepped up. Not having Haley Ahr in the lineup, we’ve had to put somebody in there to protect Maddie [Pleasants] in the order, and Bella has stepped up and done a fantastic job. I couldn’t be happier for her,” said Ausanio.
Pusey, Manory and Pleasants combined for seven of the eight hits in the walk-off victory and senior utility Ronni Howard recorded the other hit.
Following Pleasants’ second win and first complete game of the season, Myers matched Pleasants’ outing against an ACC opponent with a ranked win against No. 15 Missouri.
“The girls were very, very excited to play that game and they were laser-focused. We did a good job… I thought we had a good chance to be competitive but not only were we competitive, we completely dominated in every aspect of the game,” said Ausanio.
Myers stepped into the circle against Notre Dame and went the distance, allowing four hits over seven shutout innings.
“She hit her spots [and] she changed speeds. It reminded me of the South Carolina game she pitched in the regionals two years ago,” said Ausanio.
The 2024 MAAC Co-Pitcher of the Year matched up against former Ivy League Pitcher of the Year, graduate student Alexis Laudenslager. Laudenslager, a Princeton transfer student, led Notre Dame in innings pitched and started both conference tournament games for the Fighting Irish last season.
However, Laudenslager has struggled to begin this season, entering the game with a 10.50 earned run average. Those struggles continued as she was chased early by Marist, allowing three runs on three hits in 1 ⅓ innings.
McDonald took Laudenslager deep in the first inning to give Marist a 2-0 lead and the Red Foxes controlled the rest of the way.
“She will try to throw her change up a lot and we had a couple of hitters, Miah [McDonald] especially, just do a really good job of sitting on it and driving it,” said Ausanio.
Sophomore outfielder Samantha Rogers hit her second home run of the season in the second inning and McDonald homered again in the third, extending Marist’s lead to 4-0. Freshman infielder and catcher Sienna Kunze singled to center, knocking in two more runs.
Myers finished off the Irish with her second strikeout, earning her third win and complete game of the season.
On Saturday, Marist continued to be tested against Towson and Coastal Carolina. Against Towson, their first game of the day, Marist went back and forth with the Tigers in a 13-9 extra-inning win.
“That was a total team win. I used four pitchers in that game and we’re a little bit banged up right now with Ava and Haley being out so there are not a lot of subs. Everybody stepped up and contributed in that game,” said Ausanio. “It proves you can be a good team when you get down. They had a little more adversity and they worked back every time.”
The Red Foxes recorded 17 hits against Towson but needed eight innings to defeat them. Pleasants’s two-run homer in the first inning gave Marist a lead, but it did not last long.
Sophomore pitcher and outfielder Anna Sidlowski and junior pitcher Isabella Milazzo each had a blow-up inning; senior infielder Kristin Toland homered off Sidlowski in the bottom of the first to give Towson a 3-2 lead and Milazzo surrendered extra-base hits to junior catcher Grance Franczyk and freshman infielder Mackenzie Gorczyca as part of a four-run fourth inning.
With Marist trailing 7-3, Pleasants singled home Pusey for her third RBI of the game. Then, Manory’s timely hitting continued.
With one swing, the catcher tied the game at seven, hitting her team-high fifth home run of the season, giving the Red Foxes an 8-7 lead with a go-ahead single in the sixth.
Freshman pitcher Emma Bayor quieted the Tigers’ bats in two innings of relief, striking out three and allowing one hit. Myers entered for Bayor in the sixth and Towson once again responded.
Myers’ first blemish of the season came courtesy of junior infielder Briyana Wright. The junior hit a go-ahead two-run homer off Myers, giving Towson the lead back to 9-8.
Three seniors, Howard, outfielder Kaitlyn Husic and infielder Maddie Gore, came up big in the seventh. Howard set the table with a single and Husic followed with a double, putting runners in scoring position for Gore to drive in the tying run on a sacrifice fly, knotting the game back up at nine.
“I was thrilled with the fact [Husic and Gore] stepped up in that situation. Both are getting a lot of chances to play right now. Both have been on the big stage before and I don’t think either we’re phased by it,” said Ausanio.
Marist owned the eighth inning, scoring four runs on three hits and an error; the 13-9 score stood firm for their seventh win of the season. McDonald and Howard each had three hits while Manory had four and five RBIs.
The Red Foxes came back down to earth against Coastal Carolina, falling 9-1 in six innings. Senior pitcher Nicollete Picone shut down Marist’s offense, allowing a walk, a hit by pitch, three hits and striking out nine.
“Honestly, I feel like we were just gassed last night [at Coastal Carolina]. The Notre Dame game was very emotional. The girls were both physically and mentally exhausted after that Notre Dame game and we played such a tough game with Towsom back and forth,” said Ausanio. “No excuse, we still have to bring our game, but I felt we were a little flat in the Coastal game.”
Pleasants started opposite against Picone and Coastal Carolina’s offense was all over her. Nine of the 11 Chanticleers hits went for extra bases, including three solo home runs.
“I watched the game on replay, and [Pleasants] made some really good pitches. Credit to them, they hit some good pitches, they hit better than us and the pitcher was really tough. [Picone] was probably the best pitcher we’ve seen all year,” said Ausanio.
Their second loss became Marist’s final game of the weekend as Sunday’s matchup against Kent State was canceled due to weather.
Marist’s next trip is to DeLand, Florida for the Stetson Invitational to face Long Island University and Stetson twice and a single game against Florida Atlantic University. Ausanio and the Red Foxes hope reinforcements are returning with Ahr potentially back on the field this weekend. Stetson ranked eighth in the D1 Week One Mid-Major Top 25 Softball Poll and No. 25 Florida Atlantic cracked the ESPN Top 25 following a 6-0 start. They will face LIU first, beginning at noon on Friday, Feb. 21.
Edited by Cara Lacey
Graphic Credit: Cara Lacey
Photo Credit: Jaylen Rizzo
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