Marist softball finished its third of five non-conference tournaments over the weekend on Friday, Feb. 21, in DeLand, Florida. The Red Foxes (10-4) concluded 3-2, going over .500 in their third straight tournament with two wins over LIU, a bounce-back win against Stetson, and losses to Florida Atlantic and Stetson, respectively.
Marist redshirt junior infielder Haley Ahr returned from injury and picked up right where she left off, hitting 10-17, driving in 12 RBIs and homering twice to make an offensive impact in the middle of the lineup. Sophomore outfielder Samantha Rogers also homered twice, increasing her total to the second-most on the team at four.
Graduate student pitcher Kiley Myers threw two complete games in two starts, including her first collegiate no-hitter in Marist’s first matchup on Friday against LIU.
Marist head coach Joe Ausanio compared Myers’ no-hitter to watching an outing of Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux.
“She hit her spots really well and made quality pitches the entire game. They couldn’t square up anything. She jammed them, painted them away and got some swings and misses. She was outstanding,” said Ausanio.
As Myers carved up LIU hitters, the Marist offense provided plenty of run support, recording 10 hits and four home runs en route to a 9-0 five-inning run-rule victory.
Graduate student infielder Miah McDonald immediately kickstarted the offense in the first inning with a solo shot. Two batters later senior pitcher and infielder Maddie Pleasants followed her up with a two-run homer, driving in Ahr to give Marist a quick 3-0 lead.
Junior catcher Isabella Manory added insurance in the third with a sac fly before Marist broke the game open in the fourth inning, tacking on five more runs by way of the long ball.
Rogers led off the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run and Marist loaded the bases with one out for Ahr. She took the second pitch she saw over the fence for a game-opening grand slam, extending the lead to 9-0.
“[Ahr]’s just a pure hitter. She can hit, and she’s not even 100%. She’s still in a little bit of pain when she swings, but she’s plowing through,” said Ausanio.
Myers finished the rout with a hit batter as the only baserunner that reached and added two strikeouts to her no-hitter.
The Red Foxes were on the opposite end of a five-run inning in their next game against Stetson, falling 8-3 for their third loss of the year. Marist was blanked for the first five innings by freshman Hayley Arnold and, in the fourth inning, trailed 2-0 to the Hatters.
“[Arnold] hit her spots and we didn’t put good swings on her until the end and, by that time, it was too late. We gave up some runs, we had some blunders defensively that we haven’t been able to be outside and work on that stuff,” said Ausanio.
Stetson added five runs on five hits in the bottom of the fourth, forcing Pleasants out of the circle with 10 hits, seven runs and four walks allowed in three-plus innings pitched. Sophomore pitcher and outfielder Anna Sidlowski threw the final three innings of relief, allowing four hits and one run. On the opposite side, Arnold allowed five hits and two runs in six innings.
Sidlowski, on her birthday, went back to the circle on Saturday to face FAU, a program with five Power Five wins, ranked nationally in week one and received votes in the second Top-25 poll.
“Anna made some changes in the fall, and we’ve been fine-tuning her… it was her birthday yesterday, so I said, ‘I’m going to start her against FAU.’ She threw really well. She was a good matchup for them,” said Ausanio.
The 4-3 loss was a game of multi-run innings with FAU striking first and plating two in the first inning. Marist took the lead back in the third, responding with three runs behind Ahr and freshman Sienna Kunze singles.
Junior catcher Chloe Yeatts doubled in the fifth inning, bringing junior infielder Jesiana Mora around to score and tie the game at three. Yeatts, a New Mexico transfer, went 2-4 with two RBIs and Mora was 3-3. The Owls added another run in the fifth for a one-run lead, which was enough for their 12th-ranked staff in the nation in ERA (1.38).
Junior outfielder Peyton Pusey and McDonald reached to begin the seventh but Ahr, Pleasants and Manory all popped out to end the game.
“We had our chances, we had winning runs on in the bottom of the seventh,” said Ausanio. “The FAU coach came up to me, she thought we were the best team they’ve seen all year.”
The Red Foxes’ took a two-game skid and first losing streak of the season against Stetson, who beat them the day prior. Fortunately for Marist, Myers could be relied on as a steadying presence.
Myers’s second outing of the tournament did not look the same as her no-hitter; the Hatters recorded 10 hits but the ace kept them contained, leading Marist to a 6-2 victory.
In the second inning, Rogers gave Marist a 3-0 lead with a three-run home run, her second of the tournament. Through 13 games, Rogers’s OPS is the third-best on the team at .995.
“We always knew [Rogers] had the power and what she’s capable of doing. Her power is undeniable and she’s done a really good job this year of laying off of bad pitches, which was probably the book on her going into this year. She’s dialed in and taking some good swings,” said Ausanio.
Marist’s offense continued tallying extra-base hits, senior utility Ronni Howard recording two doubles, Ahr doubling in a run and McDonald tripling in the seventh to extend Marist’s lead to 6-1. McDonald’s seventh-inning triple gave her the all-time record for triples in program history.
Myers improved to 6-0, allowing a solo home run in the second and stranding six Stetson base runners throughout the game. Myers has thrown three shutouts in five starts and each of her starts has been a complete game. In 34.1 innings pitched, she owns a 0.82 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and a .197 BAA.
Marist finished their tournament against the same team they started with; defeating LIU again in a 5-0 win.
Pleasants bounced back with a stellar complete-game outing, striking out six over seven innings while allowing three hits and three walks. Ahr was the offensive catalyst in the victory, driving in four of the five runs.
“She was unbelievable. Big two-run homer or big double when we needed it, she’s doing a really good job… She knows the strike zone, doesn’t swing at many bad pitches and, when she gets her pitch, she does some damage,” said Ausanio.
In the third inning, Ahr opened the scoring with a two-run home run and later doubled in the fifth inning to drive in another two runs, giving her 14 total RBI in the tournament.
Pleasants struck out two in the seventh inning to cap off her second complete game of the season.
“[Pleasants] is kind of a Jekyll and Hyde. When she’s good, she’s tough. I think sometimes for her, it’s just self-confidence. When she believes she’s good, she has it going,” said Ausanio. “I saw her throw in the bullpen today, I just knew it was going to be a good day, because, I mean, she was throwing absolute gas in the bullpen.”
The Red Foxes will make their second trip to South Carolina next weekend for the Winthrop Tournament. First pitch is Friday, Feb. 28 at 12:30 p.m. against Southern Indiana.
Edited by Cara Lacey
Graphic Credit: Cara Lacey
Photo Credit: Jaylen Rizzo
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