April 29, 2010
Game 2 Box Score
WEST POINT, N.Y. - The Marist softball team fell victim to two walk-off victories at the hands of the Army Black Knights on Thursday in a non-conference doubleheader at the Army Softball Complex. In game one, Army took a 4-3 victory from Marist, while in the nightcap Alexis Aubuchon hit a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth. Army won game two, 10-6.
Sophomore Alyxandra Ponce (Columbia, Md.) finished the day 4-for-6 at the plate with her first career home run. She also had three RBIs in the twinbill. Sophomore Nicole DiVirgilio (Aston, Pa.) had three hits and two RBIs, both of which came in game two. Freshman Danielle Koltz (Chenango Bridge, N.Y.) hit her team-leading third long ball of the season.
In game two of the doubleheader, Marist (6-29) jumped out to a one run lead in the top of the first. Corriss led off the game with a single to grow her hitting streak to six games. She came around to score on a two-out base hit by DiVirgilio three batters later.
Army (28-16) responded in the bottom half of the inning with two runs of its own to claim a 2-1 lead. Rachael Duval, who doubled down the left field line, scored on a Tiffany Johnson single to right. AuBuchon plated the second Black Knights' run of the frame when she scored on an Angela Deger walk.
After Army added a run in the third to make the score 3-1 in favor of the home team, Marist notched a five-run sixth inning where 11 batters went to bat. During the latter stages of the stanza, five of the last six batters reached base. The Red Foxes put together two stretches where three straight batters got hits. Upon the conclusion of the top of the sixth, Marist led 6-3.
The Black Knights cut the lead to two, 6-4, in the bottom of the sixth and tied the score with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. Tiffany Held scored on an Erin McClain base hit to right field to force extra innings.
After Army loaded the bases and came up empty in the eighth, they capitalized in a similar situation an inning later. With a runner on first, back-to-back walks by Alex Reynolds and Duval, Aubuchon hit a grand slam to left field to end the game.
In game one, freshman starting pitcher Emily Osterhaus (Suwanee, Ga.) retired six of the first seven batters faced, Marist took a 2-0 lead in the top of the third. Ponce hit her first career home run, a two-run shot, just over the 200-foot fence down the left field line. She drove in classmate Caitlin Schell (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.).
The Red Foxes increased the lead to three runs after freshman Koltz led off the fourth with a solo shot of her own to left field. It was her third long ball of the season, and just the second game in 2010 where Marist hit multiple home runs.
Army cut its deficit to one in the bottom half of the fourth with runs by AuBuchon and Reanna Johnson. Jennifer Handy drove in the second of the two runs on a ground out. The Black Knights knotted the game at three in the bottom of the sixth. After Held led the frame off with a double to right center field, she came around to score on a two-out RBI single by Clara Navarro.
Marist had a chance to take the lead in the seventh inning. Sophomore Kate Malloy (Fair Haven, N.J.) drove a line drive, but directly at right fielder Held, who caught the ball for the second out and doubled up a tagging Corriss at home on a very close play. Malloy had a base hit in the second game - she now has 99 career hits.
The Black Knights passed across the winning run as Rachael Duval scored the fourth run for Army on a Deger ground ball which was sent to the shortstop, Malloy but first baseman Lindsay Durant (Martinsville, N.J.) could not handle the throw.
Shawna Bleyl of Army picked up her second and third wins of the season against the Red Foxes. She improved to 11-4 on the season as she came in out of the bullpen to throw two innings of scoreless softball in game one and 3.1 innings in game two.
Osterhaus came up on the short end of the decision for Marist in game one. She fell to 1-9 during her rookie season despite throwing a complete game, allowing four runs, one earned and striking out three Black Knight batters.
Marist will wrap up the road portion of its schedule on Saturday, May 1 when it travels to Loudonville, N.Y. for a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) doubleheader. The first pitch of game one is scheduled for noon.
