GAME 2 BOXSCORE
Stratford, CT (May 13, 2005)- Top-seeded Iona defeated softball, 9-3, this afternoon in the first game of the double-elimination MAAC Championships. #3 Canisius later ended the Lady Jaspers' season in an elimination game, winning, 9-3. Kiera Fox hit her 17th home run of the season for Manhattan in the Iona game, which ends its season with a 22-25 record, a six win improvement from last year. Sophomore Michelle Gutierrez was named to the All-Tournament team.
In the opener, Iona plated a run in the bottom of the first to take the early lead, but the Lady Jaspers fought right back, as Fox led off the second with a walk, and came all the way around to score when Erika Kostik doubled to the right center field gap to knot the score at 1-1.
The Gaels regained the lead with a three run bottom of the second, before Stefanie Gozdziewsi cut the deficit in half with a solo homer in the top of the third, making the score 4-2 Iona.
Iona regained a two run cushion with a run in the fourth, before Fox's blast in the top of the sixth brought Manhattan back within two, at 5-3. Unfortunately, the Gaels would push across four runs in the bottom of the frame to provide the final margin.
In the elimination game, Manhattan got things going early, as two errors and a walk loaded the bases for Fox, who worked an RBI walk. Michelle Gutierrez followed with a two-run double to make the score 3-0, and it seemed like the Lady Jaspers were about to chase the MAAC Pitcher of the Year, but she was able to wriggle out of the jam with no further damage.
The Griffs returned the favor in the bottom of the first, as two Manhattan errors led to three runs, knotting the score at three.
Bunten would settle down from there, and the Canisius bats would come alive, scoring twice in the second, three in the third, and one more in the fourth to provide the final margin.
Manhattan ends its season with a 22-25 record, and qualified for the MAAC playoffs for the second straight season, an accomplishment that hasn't been reached since the 1995 and 1996 seasons.
