After defeating the Canisius Golden Griffins in the second game of a doubleheader on Friday, Marist softball captured its third consecutive MAAC regular-season championship. The MAAC Championships will now run through Gartland Field; over the last two seasons, the Red Foxes are 23-2 at home.
With the sweep, Marist pushed its winning streak to a season-best nine straight and has now won 14 of its last 15 games. Of the 14 wins, seven came by just one run, including four consecutive one-run victories against Iona and Sacred Heart. The Red Foxes did not have to add to their resume in one run-games, as the offense jumped on Canisius’ pitching early and often in Buffalo.
In game one, sophomore catcher/utility Sienna Kunze set the tone with her team-leading 10th home run in the first inning. The three-run blast put the Red Foxes up for good, as graduate student pitcher Ava Metzger needed just 69 pitches to throw her sixth complete game of the season.
Senior outfielder Peyton Pusey led the way with three hits, while graduate student infielder Haley Ahr, Kunze, senior catcher Isabella Manory and junior outfielder Samantha Rogers recorded two hits. In the series, Marist scored an astounding 31 runs on 35 hits; in the process, the lineup capitalized on 10 Canisius errors.
After a two-hit output against Rider on April 11, Rogers went through a 0-14 drought, but now has picked up two multi-hit performances in her last five games. The junior’s three-run blast in the seventh gave Marist an 8-2 lead, one they held on to to take game one.
Redshirt sophomore pitcher Stella Blanchard notched her team-leading 11th win of the season en route to an 8-5 victory in game two. Trailing 8-2 in the bottom of the seventh, the Golden Griffins plated three runs and had the winning run at the plate, but junior pitcher/outfielder Anna Sidlowski induced a game-ending groundout to preserve the win.
Freshman first baseman/outfielder Annabelle Geiser registered three hits in the contest, including a bunt single in the first inning. A throwing error on the play by freshman infielder Renee Hester prompted Pusey to score the game’s first run; Canisius committed four errors that led to four unearned runs scored by Marist.
Sidlowski made her first start of the season at designated player and tallied two hits and scored two runs. In game three, Sidlowski hit for herself in the circle and picked up two more hits, two more runs scored and two RBI’s.
While Sidlowski has rediscovered her 2024 MAAC Rookie of the Year form in the circle – posting a 2.23 ERA over 50.1 innings against conference opponents – her emergence at the plate could provide head coach Joe Ausanio with an additional offensive option. Across both games on Friday, Pusey, Geiser and Ahr totaled four hits each.
To conclude the series, the Red Foxes rolled to a 15-4 win on a rain-filled Saturday afternoon. The game featured two rain delays: a one-hour and three-minute stoppage at the end of the first inning and a one-hour and 44-minute delay with one out in the top of the fourth inning.
Junior pitcher Liv Herrington did not make it out of the first inning for Canisius. Herrington walked four of the five batters she faced, which allowed Marist to scratch two first-inning runs. The Red Foxes have now scored first-inning runs in six straight games.
The Marist offense came alive after the first delay, striking for seven runs before more precipitation hampered the playing conditions at Demske Sports Complex. Sidlowski’s first collegiate home run highlighted the onslaught; Kunze and Manory had multiple hits once again while Pusey scored four times.
Leading 10-0 in the fifth, the Golden Griffins initially avoided a run-rule defeat by scoring four runs, but the Red Foxes responded with five to finish off the sweep. Geiser plated Rogers on an error by sophomore pitcher Mikaila Obenrader; five more Canisius errors allowed Marist to score eight unearned runs on the way to securing their 21st MAAC win of the season.
Next up, Marist will take on Manhattan in a doubleheader that will not count towards conference standings. First pitch is set for noon in Riverdale.
Edited by Ben Leeds
Graphic & Photo by Jaylen Rizzo
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