Graduate student infielder Haley Ahr added to her record book with another milestone on a crisp, perfectly sunny afternoon at Gartland Athletic Field. In her first at bat, she broke the program record for most career doubles with 53.
“I was really happy to produce [at] that moment, especially early on in the day,” said Ahr. “That was all I was thinking about, trying to produce what I can for my team right now.”
Marist split the afternoon doubleheader with Rider, winning game one 6-2 and dropping the second game 3-0. From the first pitch in game one, Rider’s bench roared with Little League-like chants. This seemingly flustered graduate pitcher Ava Metzger, who required an early mound visit from head coach Joe Ausanio after falling behind 3-1 to the Broncs’ (19-17, 10-7 MAAC) best hitter, senior outfielder Maddie Luedtke.
“Sometimes she gets very rushed out there, and when she’s not quite where she wants to throw it, she starts to rush even more. I wanted to slow her down and make her realize that she doesn’t have to [rush],” said Ausanio.
Despite a few pitches missing well above the zone and back-to-back two-out base runners, Metzger escaped the jam unscathed; however, she tallied 25 pitches in the first frame alone.
Assistant coach Alyssa Grupp gave her cues early from the third-base-side bench: “early, often,” which worked. The Red Foxes inflated sophomore pitcher Gabi Rodriguez’s conference ERA from a MAAC-leading 0.94 to 1.52.
Marist’s (20-19, 14-3 MAAC) bats supported their ace early with a run in the first and a pair in the second. The milestone double from Ahr, sandwiched between two errors from junior infielder Kiersten Buchanan, produced the game’s first run. An arid throw to the plate from Rider’s shortstop brought in freshman utility player Manley McKenna.
Sophomore infielder/catcher Sienna Kunze’s sixth blast of the season preceded a sacrifice fly from McKenna for the three-run advantage.
Rodriguez entered play with just one walk in 44 2/3 conference innings. She issued four free passes, nine hits and five earned runs over six innings in the afternoon defeat.
Though Metzger tossed two scoreless innings, the best offense in the MAAC was bound to strike. Sophomore middle infielder/third baseman Aspen Wheeler kicked off the frame with a two-bagger. Sophomore utility player Keegan St. Cyr advanced her to third on a sacrifice bunt, and Luedtke drove her in with a sacrifice fly.
The graduate pitcher faced more trouble in the fourth after back-to-back base knocks from junior catcher/first baseman Kendall Reda-Fehsal and Rodriguez. Buchanan then tried to advance the runners with a bunt and was called out for the ball hitting her outside of the box on her way to first base; however, after a meeting with third base umpire Matt Purpuro, home plate umpire Tim Carney overturned the call, giving Buchanan another life.
She hit a deep single to left field, loading the bases with no outs. Assistant coach Julianne Bolton came out for a mound visit before sophomore first baseman Emma Morgan tacked on an RBI base hit. This ended Metzger’s afternoon. She tossed three innings of two-run ball, allowing seven hits and a strikeout.
Then, junior pitcher/outfielder Anna Sidlowski entered the circle. Despite owning a 6.62 ERA on the season, she entered the doubleheader with a 1.86 clip in MAAC play. Sidlowski was the winning pitcher in each of Marist’s last three games, but she faced a tall task: bases loaded with no outs and a one-run lead.
She struck out freshman middle infielder/outfielder Melissa Purcella, but fell behind 3-0 to Wheeler, Rider’s leadoff hitter. Sidlowski delivered a pitch on the low corner for a called strike to Wheeler’s displeasure.
This flipped the momentum as Sidlowski produced a fielder’s choice that prevented the run from scoring and a flyout to strand the bases loaded. Ausanio yelled, “YEAH. Atta girl, Anna,” after Sidlowski escaped the jam.
“It was a big turning point in the game where we were close to them tying it, so I think it was a good thing to calm us down and get us back in the game,” said Sidlowski.
Marist then tacked on three insurance runs over the next two innings. Senior outfielder Peyton Pusey flew around the bases to score on Ahr’s RBI double before she crossed the plate on an error in right field. Kunze launched her second homer of the contest in the fifth.
Sidlowski began her outing with 2.2 hitless innings, aided by a 9-3 putout from junior outfielder Samantha Rogers, her third in the past four games. Sidwolski finished with five strikeouts, four scoreless frames and the win. She recorded the victory in each of the past four contests.
Redshirt sophomore pitcher Stella Blanchard also faced first-inning adversity, successfully working around a walk and leadoff base hit in game two. She settled in nicely, retiring eight of the next nine batters after the free pass. Rogers ended the third with more impressive defense, a diving catch in right-center field.
“I’m really proud of Sam,” said Ausanio. “She came in here recruited as a shortstop, and she’s really embraced the outfield role. She’s worked hard at it, and she continues to get better. It’s really fun because she also has the best throwing arm on the team.”
Left-handed senior pitcher Fallyn Stoeckel, however, cruised on her side of the mound, collecting 15 consecutive first-pitch strikes to open the contest. The Red Foxes made some noise in the third after freshman utility player Maia Salvo walked and freshman outfielder/first baseman Annabelle Geiser reached on a bunt single, but Marist came up empty.
Hitting Purcella with a pitch to open the fourth proved costly for Blanchard after Reda-Fehsal crushed a two-run homer to dead center. Marist kept the game at 2-0 thanks to Geiser, who grabbed the first out of the inning a step before Rider’s bench down the first-base line.
Stoeckel backed that up with a 1, 2, 3 inning on three pitches in the home fourth.
“When we studied film, we put a lot of emphasis on [Rodriguez] and probably not as much as we should have on [Stoeckel] because she threw a really good game,” said Ausanio. “I almost expect to see her again tomorrow.”
Stoeckel faced another challenge in the fifth after freshman utility player Livia Wiltsie ripped a first-pitch single, Kunze reached on an error, Salvo struck out and Geiser reached on an infield base hit, flying down the line to beat the throw. With the bases loaded and one out, Pusey skied a shallow fly ball to center field, in which Wiltsie crossed the plate in time; however, she left early—double play. No run.
Blanchard, despite going the distance, allowed three earned runs on seven hits for her first career loss in MAAC play. Reda-Fehsal tacked on a Rider insurance run with a blast to left to extend the lead to three.
“She’s a pain in the ass,” said Ausanio. “She’s always been, in my opinion, their best player. She always hits well in this park, and she’s a tough out.”
Stoeckel allowed just one hit in the final two frames, propelling her to a dominant victory. She needed just 77 pitches for the complete-game shutout, allowing four hits while striking out three.
Marist looks to win the series tomorrow at Gartland, with the first pitch set for noon.
Edited by Ava Battinelli
Graphic and photo by Quinn DiFiore
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