In what was another rough weekend for Marist softball, they made program-history at the Garnet & Black Invitational. Despite being outscored 40-7 by their opponents — including three run-rule defeats — the Red Foxes took down No. 22 University of South Carolina on Saturday, 2-1.
On the backs of graduate student pitcher Ava Metzger and sophomore infielder/catcher Sienna Kunze, the win over the Gamecocks represented the first victory over a ranked opponent in program history.
For the third consecutive week, a Red Fox took home some hardware. Freshman utility Livia Wiltsie captured the MAAC Rookie of the Week award for her play at the USF Invitational, where she recorded three multi-hit games, good enough for a .429 average.
Similarly to the USF Invitational, Marist continued to struggle with runners in scoring position. In Tampa, they had 44 opportunities with runners in scoring position; in Columbia, run-scoring chances were at a premium. In the four losses, the Red Foxes tallied just 11 combined threats with runners on second base or beyond.
Game one on Friday against the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) saw Marist trailing by just two runs entering the bottom of the fifth inning. Redshirt sophomore pitcher Stella Blanchard and sophomore pitcher Emma Bayor allowed the Blazers to score seven runs to trigger the 12-3 run-rule victory.
UAB efficiently took care of business, sending just seven batters to the plate to secure the win; a grand slam from graduate student catcher Abbi Perkins off of Bayor served as the ender. In four innings of work, Blanchard allowed eight runs (seven earned) on 11 hits, by far her worst start of the season.
The Red Foxes tallied just five hits against junior pitcher Olivia Cummings, one of them being a two-run home run from senior outfielder Peyton Pusey. Conversely, every Blazer notched at least one hit; freshman infielder Charlee Bennett led the way with three hits and scored two runs.
Unlike UAB, South Carolina did not let Marist hang around very long, scoring all 11 runs in the first three innings to coast to an 11-1 win. Junior pitcher/outfielder Anna Sidlowski’s early season struggles continued, as the Gamecocks tagged her for 11 runs in just two plus innings pitched.
This start marked the second time this season that Sidlowski has allowed at least nine runs in an outing; in just 18.1 innings pitched, she has allowed 34 earned runs (12.98 ERA).
Six of South Carolina’s runs scored via the long ball. A two-run blast from junior utility Tori Ensley and a grand slam from sophomore outfielder Nina McKnight did Marist in; McKnight led the Gamecocks with five RBI’s. Wiltsie clubbed her first collegiate home run in the fourth inning to prevent the shutout.
Just one day later, Marist flushed the embarrassment of the day before and upset the nationally ranked Gamecocks. Metzger pitched brilliantly despite walking five batters, striking out eight and only allowing one earned run in her first complete game of the season.
A two-run home run from Kunze in the fourth was all Metzger needed to lock down the victory. In the final three innings, South Carolina had a runner in scoring position, but the graduate student worked out of trouble each time. To end the game, Metzger struck out Ensley, leaving the tying run stranded on second base.
Following a win for the history books, Marist again stumbled against Queens University of Charlotte, losing 7-1. Freshman pitcher Addison Kluck dominated the Red Foxes, striking out 14 and only allowing one run on three hits in her third complete game of the season.
Graduate student pitcher/designated player Lindsay Henson led the way for Queens with three hits and four RBI’s. Her three-run home run in the top of the fourth inning extended the Royal lead to six, and Marist could not get anything going against Kluck.
To cap off the weekend, the Red Foxes squared off against the Blazers once more, finishing the tournament they way they started it: a loss via run-rule. UAB scored five first-inning runs off Sidlowski highlighted by sloppy defense. The final three runs of the inning came around to score via three consecutive errors, digging the Red Foxes a hole they could not climb out of.
The Marist offensive attack had just two hits by the tandem of sophomore pitcher Tait Davidson and freshman outfielder Zaylen Tucker. The Blazers had seven players tally at least one hit; senior outfielder Ashlyn Shirah paced UAB with two hits, two runs scored and two RBI’s.
The Garnet & Black Invitational concluded a rough stretch of non-conference play from the Red Foxes. Marist has already eclipsed their loss total from last season (nine) in just 18 games this season, where they sit at 6-12 entering their first stretch of conference play.
Albeit against competition the likes of Boston College, South Florida and South Carolina, the team has lost eight of its last nine games and is not playing its best brand of softball.
Offensively, Pusey (3-12) and graduate student infielder Haley Ahr (2-12) endured uncharacteristic weekends and the team as a whole has struggled to come through with runners in scoring position. In Columbia, Marist did not record more than six hits in a game.
Defensively, the team has committed 15 errors over the last two weekends. Giving teams extra outs to work with rarely works well, especially with a pitching staff that is leaning heavily on Blanchard and Metzger at the moment.
Marist will look to regroup as MAAC play commences on Saturday against Fairfield. First pitch is set for noon at Alumni Softball Stadium.
Edited by Max Rosen
Graphic by Xavier Angel
Photo via Marist Athletics
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