The Marist Softball team will be on the road this weekend closing out the 2012 regular season with two MAAC doubleheaders. On Saturday the Red Foxes will travel to Loudonville to face Siena College starting at 1 P.M. The Red Foxes will then travel to New Rochelle to end the regular season against Iona College beginning at 1 P.M. also.
Marist currently is in a tie with Fairfield for second place in the MAAC in the race for a top four position and a berth in next week's MAAC Tournament. Six teams are still alive for a potential MAAC Tournament spot: Iona 11-3 MAAC, Marist 8-4, Fairfield 8-4, Canisius 9-5, Rider 7-5 and Siena 6-6.
*Live chats will accompany both doubleheaders this weekend.*
LAST TIME OUT: Marist welcomed Hudson Valley rival Army to Poughkeepsie on Wednesday and split the doubleheader. In Game One, the Red Foxes faced the winningiest pitcher in Division I softball this season and took the loss 6-4. Marist came out fast in Game One scoring four runs in the first inning highlighted by Danielle Koltz's eighth home run of the year. Army responded with two runs in the second and another two runs in the fourth which tied the game. The Black Knights scored the game-winning two runs on a single up the middle in the top of the seventh inning. With the Army victory, Morgan Lashley won her 31st game of the season.
In Game Two, Aly Klemmer responded to an early Army score by driving in Koltz with an RBI single up the middle to tie the game. In the second inning, Marist scored two more runs extending the lead to 3-1. With Marist scoring two runs in the fourth with a two run home run by senior Megan Lamoureux and four more runs in the fifth, Marist had an eight- run advantage giving them a 9-1 victory.
RECENT HISTORY:
SIENA: Last year Marist welcomed Siena College to Poughkeepsie to open up MAAC play for the season. In Game One, the Saints scored two runs to open the game with a two run home run. Marist tied the game with two solo home runs coming in the third and fourth inning by Alyssa Zahka and Nicole DiVirgilio. Marist took the final lead when DiVirgilio hit a single which scored pinch-runner Nicole Van Loan.
In Game Two, Marist was in a quick 4-0 deficit in the second inning but found a way to fight back in the bottom half of the inning. Sarah Carmody walked with the bases loaded scoring a run followed by a three-run doubled by Lamoureux. Siena hit a solo home run in the fourth inning taking a 6-5 lead. With a one run deficit Marist entered the bottom of the seventh with a chance for a walk-off victory. With two runners on base, Carmody hit a ground ball to first base which was fielded and thrown home but sailed over the catcher's head allowing two runners to score and give the Red Foxes a 7-6 victory and a sweep of the series.
IONA: The Red Foxes welcomed Iona to Poughkeepsie last April and swept the Gaels in a MAAC doubleheader. Iona took an early lead by scoring one run off of a solo home run in the second inning. Lamoureux hit a single up the middle scoring a run in the bottom of the sixth inning and tying the game. Emily Osterhaus retired two batters in a row a runner on third to end the top of the seventh inning. With a full count in the bottom of the seventh inning Koltz stepped up and hit a walk-off home run to give Marist the 2-1 victory.
In Game Two, Marist would score 13 runs over the course of five innings to give them an eight-run rule victory. With Iona scoring three runs in the top of the first, Marist answered with six runs in the bottom of the inning. The Gaels would cut the lead to 6-5 in the top of the second but Koltz sparked the offense once again in the bottom half of the inning. Her RBI double scored the first three runs of the inning which gave Marist a 9-5 lead. RBI singles in the fourth inning by Zahka, Koltz, and Carmody established a commanding 13-5 lead for the Red Foxes and the game was called in five innings.
SCOUTING SIENA: Siena comes into the weekend with the second highest batting average in the conference behind Marist. The Saints are a power hitting team, leading the MAAC in home runs with 38. Junior Shannon Jones is hitting .428 on the year with 13 home runs and 41 RBIs. The Saints have two other players batting over .300, Jessika Sandrini (.394) and Nastasha Powlowsky (.322). Sandrini has also hit 12 home runs and 34 RBIs.
In the circle for the Saints, Amanda Filippazzo has a team leading 10 wins and 2.75 ERA with 86 strikeouts and 19 complete games. Jessika Sandrini has an ERA of 3.04 with a team leading 123 strikeouts in 140.2 innings.
SCOUTING IONA: Iona comes into the weekend with a league leading 11-3 conference record and 30-22 overall. Two Gaels are hitting over .300 on the year in Eileen McCann who has a .347 batting average with seven home runs and 16 RBIs and Alyssa Maiese who is hitting .311 with nine home runs and 38 RBIs.
Sarah Jackson and Alyssa Maiese lead the Gaels in the circle. Jackson has a 1.30 era which leads the team and the MAAC conference. She has 204 strikeouts, 22 complete games, and 15 wins while pitching in 28 games. Maiese is second in the conference behind her teammate with a 1.44 era. She has appeared in 29 games earning 14 wins and 181 strikeouts.
MARIST IN THE MAAC - Through eleven weeks of action (Thursday, May 3) here's a quick glance of where Marist sits among the team and individual statistical standings in the MAAC...
Team
#1 Batting Average - .285
#2 Slugging Pct. - .429
#1 On-Base Pct. - .365
#1 Runs Scored - 229
#1 Hits - 378
#1 Runs Batted In - 206
#1 Doubles -70
#4 Triples - 6
#2 Home Runs - 36
#1 Walks - 139
#3 Stolen Bases - 48
#7 Batting Average - .327
#2 Runs Batted In - 39
#T4 Home Runs - 8
#5 Batting Average - .340
#2 Runs - 37
#5 Walks - 21
#T2 Doubles - 12
#9 Batting Average - .324
#T1 Triples - 3
#1 Hit by Pitch - 14
#5 On-base Pct - .444
#2 Walks - 27
#9 ERA - 3.02
MILESTONES TO WATCH - In the coming games, six Red Foxes will be approaching career and program milestones.
50 Doubles (#1 in Program History): Currently at 42
117 Runs Batted In (#2): Currently at 112
554 At-Bats (#5): Currently at 548
118 Runs (#2): Currently at 100
7 Triples (#6): Currently at 5
90 Runs (#8 in Program history): Currently at 77
19 Home Runs (#7): Currently at 13
22 Home Runs (T4 in Program History): Currently at 19
80 Runs Batted In (#8): Currently at 78
13 Home Runs (#8 in Program history): Currently at 12
13 Home Runs (#8 in Program history): Currently at 12
