Box Score
Box Score
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning, third-seeded Iona (21-21) mounted a three-run rally to notch a 6-5 victory over the sixth-seeded Manhattan College softball team (22-28) in the opening round of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament at Alumni Softball Field on Wednesday afternoon.
Eileen McCann, the MAAC's leading hitter, started the game-winning rally with a double off the wall in left, and Kristen Turner followed with a single to right. After Sarah Schutz was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Danielle Gabriel (Island Heights, N.J.) relieved Kate Bowen (Newtown, Conn.) in the circle for the Jaspers. Gabriel got Katie Jansson on a line drive to short, but Brianna Schauer followed with a single down the right field line that knocked in two runs, tying the game at 5-5. Carly Argyle then flied to center, and it looked like the contest would head to extra innings when pinch hitter Sydney Dimon hit a popup behind first base. However, the ball was just out of Jenn Vazquez's (Fairfield, Conn.) reach and dropped for a game-winning single.
The contest started off as a pitcher's duel between Bowen and Argyle, and it was scoreless until the bottom of the fourth inning, when the Gaels put three runs on the board. After singles by Jansson and Argyle, Allison Hand sent a little floater behind second base that landed just beyond the outstretched glove of Amanda Paxson (Cedar Grove, N.J.) for an RBI base hit. Kelsey Long doubled on the next pitch to make it 3-0 Iona.
However, the Jaspers immediately countered with two in the top of the fifth. Bowen was hit by a pitch with one out, then Elena Bowman (San Mateo, Calif.) walked and Paxson singled to load the bases for Vazquez. And the Fairfield native, who grew up five minutes away from the ballpark, worked a walk to force in a run. Andi Stallard (Katy, Texas) followed with a sacrifice fly to left that brought Manhattan within 3-2.
Iona got the first two out in the top of the sixth before pinch hitter Anna Crowley (Eastchester, N.Y.) drew a four-pitch walk to keep the inning alive for Bowen. After Bowen walked, Argyle threw a wild pitch, opening up first base and allowing her to intentionally walk Bowman. The Gaels then called upon Jordan Courage in relief, and she hit Paxson to force in the tying run. Vazquez was up next, and she delivered a double down the right field line that plated two, giving the Jaspers their first lead of the game at 5-3.
After Bowen worked around a two-out double in the bottom of the sixth, Stephanie Reinhardt (Albany, N.Y.) battled back from an 0-2 count to draw a leadoff walk in the top of the seventh. Mickayla Romero (Las Vegas, Nev.) bunted her over to second, but that's where Reinhardt would remain, sending the contest into the bottom of the seventh with the Jaspers leading by two.
Bowman and Paxson, the No. 2 and 3 hitters in the Manhattan lineup, each reached base all four times they came to the plate. Paxson finished 3-for-3 with an RBI, while Bowman was 1-for-1 with two walks and a run scored. Vazquez went 1-for-3 with three RBIs, and Stallard ended up 1-for-3 with an RBI. In addition to scoring two runs, Bowen (11-7) started in the circle and lasted six-plus innings. She allowed six runs on 10 hits and walked three. Gabriel gave up two hits in 0.2 innings.
For Iona, the top hitting team in the MAAC, Turner finished 3-for-4 and McCann went 2-for-2 with a run scored. Hand added two hits, a run scored and an RBI. Long and Schauer each knocked in a pair of runs for the Gaels, who recorded 12 hits as a team. Argyle went the first 5.2 innings in the circle, giving up five runs on five hits while striking out five and walking five. Courage (7-11) earned the win after yielding just one hit and one walk with one strikeout in 1.1 scoreless innings.
Manhattan now drops into the loser's bracket and will be eliminated with one more loss. The Japers next play at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday against the loser of the matchup between top-seeded Marist (26-22) and fifth-seeded Monmouth (23-20).
