Following two one-run victories over Quinnipiac on Friday, Marist propelled itself over the Bobcats for the sweep. The star of the show was senior outfielder Peyton Pusey, who was just a home run shy of a cycle.
Pusey started things off early for the Red Foxes with a lead-off double, and scored on a single by graduate student infielder Haley Ahr to take a 1-0 lead.
Quinnipiac’s Mary Fogg reached first on an error and took second as well. A single and walk issued by junior pitcher Anna Sidlowski would load up the bases with no outs, putting the Red Foxes in a tough spot.
Sophomore third baseman Sienna Kunze turned an unconventional double play to prevent a run from scoring, but the Bobcats had themselves a two-out rally when senior outfielder Ally Hochstadter’s triple brought in two runs, and senior infielder Natalia Apatiga’s single would add on another, giving Quinnipiac the 3-1 lead in the bottom of the first.
Marist answered back with a Pusey single to score a run, cutting the deficit to one in the second. In the following inning, back-to-back solo shots from Ahr and Kunze allowed the Red Foxes to regain the lead.
Quinnipiac’s starter, sophomore Shannon Kendall, exited the circle and handed the ball to freshman pitcher Jasmine Kline after just 2.1 innings, four earned runs, six hits and two home runs allowed.
A pair of singles from Apatiga and senior outfielder Noelle Reid, followed by another Bobcat reaching on an error, the Red Foxes found themselves in a bases-loaded jam with one out in the bottom of the fourth, but Sidlowski managed to escape unscathed.
Pusey continued her productive day at the plate with a triple to start the fifth inning, followed by a single and a stolen base to put two runners in scoring position. Ahr picked up another RBI with a sac fly, Geiser scored on a wild pitch and Kunze scored on Quinnipiac errors to extend the lead to four.
A tough inning defensively for the Bobcats was ended by an Apatiga diving catch and glove flip to turn two. The Bobcats would have some baserunners in the bottom of the fifth, but had no luck scoring.
Pusey picked up yet another single in the sixth, her fourth hit on the day, but Quinnipiac held the Foxes from further damage.
Down to their last breath, Quinnipiac had runners on first and third, and a controversial strike three call sealed the deal for the Foxes.
Sidlowski pitched a complete game, her final line being zero earned runs, nine hits, one walk and two strikeouts. For the Bobcats, Kline finished with two earned runs, five hits, two strikeouts and no walks.
Marist improved to 18-3 in MAAC play, and is still first in the conference. Their next matchup is at home against a non-conference double-header against Monmouth on Wednesday, at 1 pm and 3 pm.
Edited by Ben Leeds
Photo by Jaylen Rizzo
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