Marist softball trounced the Purple Eagles on Tuesday during their quick trip to Niagara Falls, totaling 28 runs over two games in 19-6 and 9-0 five-inning wins. This is the second time the 40-win milestone has been reached in program history.
Before the Red Foxes’ (41-7-1, 18-2-1 MAAC) pivotal season-finale series against Iona, taking care of business against Niagara (9-30, 6-16 MAAC) was imperative. Marist made a statement with the two high-octane wins and will face Iona with a leg up to determine the MAAC tournament host and one-seed.
Niagara entered the double header with the highest team ERA in the MAAC by over two points at 8.23. While game one started with three lead changes, the MAAC’s best statistical offense and worst pitching staff proved an explosive combination to Marist’s advantage.
On freshman starting pitcher Aubrey Tamayo’s second pitch of the game, the Red Foxes led 1-0 courtesy of junior center fielder Peyton Pusey.
Pusey hit her second consecutive lead-off home run, increasing her total to seven homers, a season-high 19 RBIs and 50th of her career. She racked up plenty more RBIs on the day, going 4-for-4 with a walk in game one.
The Purple Eagles responded to Pusey’s first home run of the day in the bottom of the first. Junior Second baseman Hailey Cenname has recorded three hits in five of her last 10 games, starting game one with an emphatic two-run homer, thus taking a 2-1 lead right back.
Pusey came to the plate the next inning with another scoring chance as junior catcher Isabella Manory and senior third baseman Ronni Howard stood on second and third. With two outs, Tamayo came a pitch away from retiring Pusey. Instead, she saw Pusey’s second home run of the day fly over the fence and Marist retake the lead at 4-2.
Graduate student pitcher Kiley Myers let up a third run in the second inning, an RBI single by senior center fielder Lindsey Mayo. Manory threw out Mayo on a stolen base attempt, ending the inning and keeping Marist in front 4-3 through two eventful innings. From there, the game blew open.
Four straight Red Foxes reached safely to begin a nine-run third inning. Redshirt junior first and second baseman Haley Ahr led off the third with a double and scored on a Kunze base knock. With the score 5-3, Manory entered with bases loaded and no outs and added two more runs, singling through the left side of the infield.
Senior Kaitlyn Husic added a sacrifice fly and Pusey, once again, drove in a run for her fifth RBI and extended the lead to 9-3. The scoring continued as Ahr surpassed double-digit home runs for the first time in her career with a three-run homer, putting Marist up 12-3. Sophomore left fielder Samantha Rogers’ RBI single put Marist up 10 runs through two and a half innings of play.
Marist added five more runs in the fourth inning on four walks, a hit by pitch and RBI singles by Ahr and Rogers. The RBIs were Ahr’s fourth of the game and Rogers’ eighth in four games. Myers finished four innings in the circle before senior pitcher Isabella Milazzo closed the 19-6 win in the fifth.
The 19 runs scored are the most for Marist since 2016, when they scored 22 on April 16 against Saint Peter’s. Ahr and Pusey each tallied four hits and five other Red Foxes reached base safely at least three times in game one.
Marist’s offense continued rolling and started game two with a 2-0 first-inning lead as graduate student shortstop Miah McDonald doubled home Pusey and Rogers recorded a sacrifice fly. The Red Foxes threatened for more against senior pitcher Sage Jackson with the bases loaded but forced a fly out to end the inning. McDonald doubled off Jackson again in the second, scoring Pusey again to add to a 3-0 lead.
Rogers added a fourth run in the top of the third inning, leading it off with a solo shot. The home run is Rogers’ fifth home run in as many games, increasing her batting average from .262 to .296 since March 30.
The Red Foxes loaded the bases in the fourth and scored three more runs, two off the bat of senior first baseman Maddie Gore. Two more runs crossed home plate in the fifth after freshman second baseman and catcher Sienna Kunze hit a laser over the fence for her seventh homer of the season.
While the offense stole the show with nine runs, Pleasants quietly worked in and out of four innings with six strikeouts and no base runners allowed.
Pleasants pounded the zone in the fifth inning with 10 of her first 13 pitches as strikes. After striking out the first two batters and getting a strike away from a perfect game, sophomore first baseman Saleh Moyer spoiled the chance at perfection with a solo home run. Pleasants finished the next batter for her 14th win of the season, striking out eight total and allowing Moyer’s hit.
Marist finished the day with 30 hits and scored a run in all 10 innings played. The final regular-season matchup for Marist will be a must-watch in Poughkeepsie. The Red Foxes take on Iona in a three-game set starting Friday, May 2, to decide the MAAC tournament host, with the first pitch of the doubleheader scheduled for noon.
Edited by Dan Aulbach
Graphic from Eugene Barbieri
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