During Marist softball’s bye weekend from MAAC play, the team took a trip to Chapel Hill, N.C. to participate in the Mizuno Showdown with No. 25 Arizona State and the University of North Carolina. The Red Foxes competed with the Sun Devils in game one but got outscored 35-5 in the final three contests, resulting in three run-rule defeats.
Graduate student pitcher Ava Metzger continued her stellar season; she tossed six innings and only allowed three runs to a potent Sun Devil lineup. Arizona State ranks inside the top 10 in the nation in home runs with 63 and runs scored at 280. They bring in four hitters with an OPS over 1.000: sophomore outfielder Ashleigh Mejia, junior infielder Katie Chester, redshirt senior outfielder Kaylee Pond and junior catcher Samantha Swan.
Saturday’s start against Arizona State marked Metzger’s second start against a ranked opponent this season. In those starts, Metzger sports an impressive 2.77 ERA, including a complete game, one-run effort against then-No. 22 University of South Carolina. The win over the Gamecocks on Feb. 28 clinched the program’s first win over a ranked opponent.
North Carolina’s offense is even stronger. The Tar Heels rank fifth in the nation in batting average at .382 and fourth in home runs with 74. Junior infielder Emily LeGette and junior outfielder Sanaa Thompson lead the way; their batting averages of .516 and .496, respectively rank seventh and 14th in the nation. Graduate student infielder Shelby Barbee and senior outfielder Lexie Roberts each have batting averages of at least .440 and an OPS over 1.000; Barbee has a 1.535 OPS.
In game one, the Red Foxes broke a scoreless tie in the fourth courtesy of an RBI single from freshman first baseman/outfielder Lily Roumelis. The Sun Devils used the long ball to finally get to Metzger, as solo shots from Mejia and Pond were enough to sneak away with a 3-1 victory. Aside from the home runs, Metzger only conceded one additional hit.
Redshirt sophomore pitcher Stella Blanchard stepped into the circle against the Tar Heels. After a scoreless first inning, North Carolina exploded for nine runs in the next two innings. Junior catcher Rayna Blackwell opened the scoring with a three-run blast, which was followed by a solo home run by Thompson to give the Tar Heels a 4-0 lead.
In the third inning, North Carolina scored five runs with two outs. A bases loaded walk and two, two-RBI singles by Thompson and LeGette ballooned the Tar Heel lead to nine. The Red Fox offense was stymied by junior pitcher Carly Maxton. Sophomore catcher/utility Sienna Kunze recorded the lone hit in the 11-0 defeat.
On Sunday, the Red Foxes faced off against Arizona State and North Carolina again. The Sun Devils jumped out to a 5-0 lead and never looked back; four Arizona State hitters recorded multiple hits. Chester led the way, tallying three hits in four at-bats, while driving in four runs.
Marist totaled eight hits in the contest, the most hits they accumulated in a game atChapel Hill. Freshman utility Maia Salvo clubbed two solo home runs and senior outfielder Peyton Pusey notched two hits. Junior pitcher/outfielder Anna Sidlowski gave up six earned runs in four innings pitched.
Leading 7-3 in the fifth, the Sun Devils tacked on five more runs against Blanchard and prevented Marist from scoring to clinch the run-rule defeat. Chester launched a three-run home run, her 14th of the season, to put the Red Foxes away, 12-3.
In the final game of the weekend, Marist got out to an early 2-1 lead thanks to an RBI single from junior outfielder Samantha Rogers and a solo home run by freshman utility Livia Wiltsie. A seven-run third quickly erased the lead, as the Red Fox defense faltered.
An error by freshman utility McKenna Manley opened the floodgates for the Tar Heels, as six unearned runs came around to score on freshman pitcher Kaylie DeChicchis. The big blow came off of the bat of Barbee; the graduate student’s three-run blast gave North Carolina a 7-2 lead. A solo home run from senior utility MC Eaton capped off the scoring.
The Tar Heels added two more runs in each of the next two innings against sophomore pitcher Emma Bayor and Sidlowski to secure another run-rule victory. Blackwell homered for the second time in two days against Marist, while another error from Manley allowed the final two runs to come home.
MAAC play resumes, as the Red Foxes head to New Rochelle to take on Iona. First pitch is set for Friday at noon.
Edited by Nate Shoemaker
Photo from Grace Bolander
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