After 74 days and 42 away games, the Marist softball team finally returned home to face Merrimack for a tightly contested doubleheader on Tuesday in Poughkeepsie. Both 4-3 wins tested the Red Foxes in the late innings before securing a double-header sweep.
Marist (36-7-1, 13-2-1 MAAC) took both games of the two-game set over Merrimack (9-27, 6-11 MAAC) while mountains of gravel sat mere feet behind the fence and heavy machinery ran around the construction site behind the field. What occurred outside the field did not matter to the Red Foxes, who were just happy to finally be back home.
“It’s exactly what we’ve been waiting for, we’ve been talking about being able to play at home this whole season,” said junior center fielder Peyton Pusey.
Graduate student pitcher Kylie Myers racked up a season-high 10 strikeouts in game one and survived a scary seventh inning, leading Marist to a 4-3 game one win. Redshirt junior second baseman Haley Ahr and Pusey were in the middle of everything during both victories.
Pusey finished the day 5-for-6 with two walks, scoring the winning run on Ahr’s walk-off sacrifice fly in game two. One of the nation’s batting average leaders, Ahr, jumped back over .500 during her 5-for-7 showing.
“Our goal is to get the energy going in any way possible. [Pusey] does a great job of that right off the bat,” said Ahr.
Sophomore pitcher Anna Gedacht faced trouble against the Red Foxes early, loading the bases with one out in the first. The sophomore limited the damage to freshman catcher Sienna Kunze RBI groundout, holding Marist to a 1-0 lead.
Pusey and Ahr singled in their first two at-bats, but the rest of the offense was stagnant. The Warriors offense struggled early as well, not seeing their first runner in scoring position until the fourth inning.
Myers hit junior left fielder Alex Miller to load the bases with two outs, but recorded an inning-ending strikeout to prevent any runs coming across. The strikeout was her seventh through four innings; Gedacht matched Myers through four innings, collecting four strikeouts and allowing just the first inning run.
Gedacht added two more punchouts in the fifth inning, one coming against graduate student Miah McDonald for the second time to get an out away from her fourth consecutive scoreless inning. With the bases loaded and two outs, senior designated player and pitcher Maddie Pleasants smoked one on the first pitch. The ball faded just outside the foul pole, missing a grand slam by a few feet.
Manory scooted home a few pitches later on a wild pitch for Marist’s second run. Pleasants brought home the other two runs for a 4-0 Marist lead, clearing the bases on a laser two-RBI single.
Much like Gedacht in the three-run fifth inning, Myers came within an out of completing the shutout. Instead, Merrimack finally found offense with their backs against the wall, recording half their hits in the final inning.
Merrimack head coach Elaine Schwager called upon junior Sydney Samuel to pinch-hit and Samuel answered the call. The junior ripped a big two-RBI double out of Manory’s reach for her fourth hit of the season.
The next batter, senior shortstop Emma Hubbard, doubled to drive home Samuel and bring the Warriors within one. Myers recorded a groundout to end the game and the two-out rally, improving her record to 17-1.
“I think [Myers] got to a point where she started to press a little bit instead of just attacking,” said Marist head coach Joe Ausanio. “She did a really good job for the first six innings of attacking their hitters. I felt like in the seventh, they got a hit; next thing you know, she got a little nervous. She even said, ‘my nerves kind of got to me a little bit there.’ It happens to everybody.”
The Red Foxes started game two exactly like game one with Kunze recording an RBI. Ahr added an extra run on a groundout for a 2-0 Marist lead in the first inning. Merrimack responded much sooner in game two, tying the game against Pleasants in the third inning. Junior second baseman Thiana Brito singled home a run and Hubbard scored on a groundout, tying the game 2-2.
Pleasants found a rhythm in the circle after the third inning, striking out a combined five batters in the fourth and fifth innings to increase her total to nine. The Red Foxes’ offense looked much better in the fifth inning, starting with McDonald. The shortstop finished game two 4-for-5 after taking a trip to the batting cage between games.
McDonald led off the inning with a home run for her 20th of the season. The solo shot tied her single-season record and career high home runs. The Red Foxes loaded the bases with a 3-2 lead and no outs, seemingly ready to break the game open.
“I think we usually do a really good job at situational hitting. I think sometimes we get really excited because we have runners on and want to do the best for our team,” said Pusey. “But honestly, not putting so much pressure on that one moment, treating it like it’s any other moment.”
Freshman pitcher Emma Prahin entered in relief of freshman starting pitcher Sarah Shurtleff and put those aspirations to a halt. Prahin walked the first batter to load the bases but retired the next to keep Merrimack within one. The Warriors responded to Prahin’s efforts, evaporating the one-run deficit in the sixth inning.
Pleasants walked in a run, allowing Merrimack to tie the game 3-3. Sophomore pitcher Anna Sidlowski came in for Pleasants, inheriting the bases loaded with two outs. Schwager went back to her bench hoping for more pinch-hit magic, but Sidlowski forced a pop-out to keep the game tied.
“We are so confident in [Sidlowski],” said Ahr. “I know she hasn’t been out there as much for us, but when she’s on that mound, she has this aura about her that she’s just attacking the batter’s head on.”
Pusey got left stranded on third in the sixth and entered the seventh tied at 3-3. Sidlowski retired the Warriors 1-2-3, striking out two. She then bunted Kunze into second base to give the Red Foxes a chance to walk it off on their first day back home. Manory sent a fly ball deep to left, but it fell short at the warning track and extra innings ensued.
In the eighth inning, Pusey bunted safely to first and moved to third on a McDonald double. This time, Pusey was brought home for the winning run, scoring easily on Ahr’s sacrifice fly to put a bow on a sweet homecoming.
“I think [being away] really challenged us as players. We’ve proven ourselves on other fields and now, coming and playing at home, there’s a level of comfort there,” said Ahr. “I’m happy we were pushed like that, because I think games like this we toughed out because of all the hard work we put in before getting here today.”
Marist plays a three-game series next against Manhattan on Saturday, April 26 at Softball Park in Poughkeepsie. The first pitch is scheduled for noon, however, the forecast may push the double header up to Friday, April 25.
Edited by Michael Burns
Photo by Kira Crutcher
