In Marist’s first home games since March 21, the Red Foxes eked out two walk-off victories over the Sacred Heart Pioneers. Both victories, each by one run, extended Marist’s win streak to seven in one-run contests.
Marist laid down three consecutive bunts in the ninth inning of game one to scrape the final run across; on senior pitcher/utility Sam Kowalski’s 167th pitch of the game, freshman utility Maia Salvo executed a walk-off safety squeeze to secure the win.
“When you have speed on the bases and can create havoc like that, that was the goal,” said Marist head coach Joe Ausanio.
In game two, Marist and Sacred Heart came out swinging. Sophomore pitcher/utility Elle Leckrone and Kowalski, two of the three Pioneers who own an OPS north of .700, accounted for three of the four home runs Sacred Heart swatted. Marist ultimately prevailed on a missed catch error at first base on freshman first baseman/outfielder Annabelle Geiser’s bunt single.
Junior pitcher/outfielder Anna Sidlowski continued her brilliance in MAAC play. Sidlowski appeared in both contests out of relief; in seven innings out of the bullpen, Sidlowski allowed zero earned runs and only gave up four hits, lowering her MAAC ERA to 1.86.
“She has really gotten her drop ball back to where it was when she won Rookie of the Year,” said Ausanio. “It has a lot of movement and she is throwing really hard; she was probably throwing mid to upper 60s today. When you are throwing that hard with that much movement, it’s tough to hit.
Two of the best pitchers the MAAC has to offer — graduate student pitcher Ava Metzger and Kowalski — duked it out in the front-end of the twinbill. Metzger bounced back after a rough outing against Iona: she hurled 6.2 innings of three-run ball.
After a three-run home run in the first by Wiltsie, Kowalski kept the Red Foxes off the board until the ninth inning. Marist applied pressure inning in and inning out, thanks to drawing nine walks, but the two-way star remained poised. She blanked the Red Foxes over the next seven innings, despite the fact that Marist employed runners in scoring position in seven of the nine innings.
“It was huge [to get on her early],” said Ausanio. “We felt like we had some good plans, and I thought we had some really good at-bats against her, but we just didn’t get those timely hits, especially with runners in scoring position.
The senior entered Tuesday’s doubleheader leading the Pioneers in batting average (.394) and OPS (1.055), while possessing a 0.99 ERA in eight starts against MAAC foes. In each start, Kowalski has gone the distance; in her previous start against Merrimack, Kowalski tossed nine innings of one-run ball on 117 pitches.
Metzger retired nine consecutive Pioneers in the middle innings; through five, the graduate student surrendered just one hit. Metzger appeared to be cruising, but the Pioneers loaded the bases with nobody out in the sixth. Kowalski assisted herself with a sacrifice fly to get Sacred Heart on the board; the Pioneers threatened for more, but Metzger wiggled out of further trouble.
Down to their final out, Sacred Heart made some noise in the seventh; three consecutive hits – including an RBI double from junior infielder Savannah Moore – brought the Pioneers one run closer. With the tying run on second, Ausanio inserted junior pitcher/outfielder Anna Sidlowski.
An infield single from sophomore pitcher/utility Elle Leckrone set the stage for junior infielder Cierra Bender with runners on the corners. Bender chopped what looked like the game-ending forceout to Ahr, but the veteran infielder was unable to get either runner out at first or second base. Tied at three and Kowalski at the plate, Sidlowski induced a fielder’s choice out to end the inning.
Marist came up empty in the bottom half, which sent the game into extra innings. The Pioneers threatened once more, but Sidlowski won a nine-pitch battle with sophomore outfielder Alexa Barbera and produced a groundout one batter later to end the inning.
Kowalski staved off an opportunity for Marist to end the game in the eighth, but her offense yielded zero results at the top of the ninth. After leaving a multitude of runners on base, Ausanio opted to call three consecutive bunts after Wiltsie’s third hit of the game gave Marist a baserunner.
The strategy proved to be successful; senior catcher Isabella Manory and sophomore catcher/utility Sienna Kunze each laid down sacrifice bunts to move Wilstie to third. With one out, Salvo dropped a squeeze bunt down with runners on second and third to score the winning run.
On the fourth pitch of game two, Leckrone launched a leadoff home run to kickstart the scoring. Redshirt sophomore pitcher Stella Blanchard struggled to keep the softball in the ballpark; she ceded three home runs and allowed four earned runs in just 2.1 innings of work.
The Red Foxes immediately responded with power of their own against senior pitcher Emily Heath. Pusey reached base once again, and freshman utility McKenna Manley mashed her first collegiate home run, a two-run shot to give Marist a 2-1 lead. After accumulating two pinch-hit singles on Saturday at Iona, Ausanio inserted Manley into the two-hole.
“I think I went back to my roots,” said Manley. “I’ve always been a really hard worker, but I’ve been working extra hard and remembering that today doesn’t really care about what you did yesterday.”
After Marist tacked on two more runs in the second, Sacred Heart matched. Solo shots from Kowalski and Moore tied the game at four, ending Blanchard’s outing. Freshman pitcher Kaylie DeChicchis entered and tossed three innings of one-run ball; the only blemish on her line was Kowalski’s second home run of the game in the fifth inning.
“She’s an outstanding player,” said Ausanio of Kowalski. “I’m glad that she is a senior.”
Kowalski’s blast leveled the game at five. Later in the inning, senior infielder Nicole Henke delivered an RBI single to put the Pioneers in front by a run. In the bottom half, the Red Foxes manufactured the tying run. Wiltsie laced a two-strike single, stole second base, advanced to third on a throwing error and scored via a wild pitch.
Sidlowski held down the Pioneers the rest of the way. In the four innings in which she was given a clean slate, Sidlowski did not allow a runner to reach second base.
Following a few missed chances, the Red Foxes finally came through. Kunze worked a leadoff walk and the bunt parade commenced once more. Salvo sacrificed Kunze to second, and Geiser took care of the rest.
With the sweep, Ausanio currently sits at 498 career wins. The veteran head coach will look to get his 500th career win in a series against Rider. First pitch is set for noon on Saturday.
Edited by Ben Leeds
Graphic and photo by Quinn DiFiore
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