NORFOLK, Va. - The
Red Foxes went 1-2 in their set of three games on Saturday at Norfolk State.
With impending weather threatening the Norfolk area on Sunday, Marist's two
scheduled doubleheaders were condensed to three games. Following an opening
loss to Fairleigh Dickinson, the Red Foxes defeated Norfolk State before falling
to Fairleigh Dickinson in the nightcap. Junior Danielle Koltz (Chenango Bridge,
N.Y.) led Marist with a team-high .500 batting average and three RBIs, as well
as one of two home runs that the Red Foxes hit on the day.
Marist opened the day with an 11-2 setback to Fairleigh
Dickinson in their 9:30 a.m. tilt. Timely hitting by the Knights and poor
defending by the Red Foxes served as the team's undoing. FDU finished with 11
hits over four innings in the run-rule shortened game. Senior Nicole DiVirgilio
(Aston, Pa.) and sophomore Alyssa Zahka (Lexington, Mass.) led Marist as they
each went 1-2 with an RBI.
In the middle contest of their trio of games, Marist came
back from an early 2-0 deficit to earn a 5-3 victory over Norfolk State in
extra innings. A pair of Norfolk State errors got the Red Foxes back into the
game in fifth inning. Freshman Taylor Kuzma (Freehold, N.J.) and Zahka came
around to score two unearned runs and tie it up.
The game continued deadlocked at 2-2 throughout regulation
as freshman pitcher Melanie White (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) held the Spartans
under control with six strikeouts over her first seven innings in the circle.
In the eighth inning, sophomore Aly Klemmer (Hamilton, N.J.)
left her imprint on the game and the eventual win as the slugging outfielder
deposited a three-run home run far out to left-center field. The Red Foxes held
onto their lead in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Spartans threatened,
but were only able to push one run across to make the final score 5-3.
White earned her first career win, with six strikeouts and
two earned runs allowed in eight innings pitched.
The final game of the day for Marist featured a rematch
between FDU and the Red Foxes. The Knights fresh off of their second run-rule
victory of day with a win versus Norfolk State, continued their hot hitting
with single runs in their first two innings.
Marist tied it up in the bottom of the second, as the team
strung together back-to-back singles by Zahka and Koltz. After a wild pitch
advanced the duo up one base, junior Sarah Carmody (Camarillo, Calif.) came
through with a 2-rbi single to left-center field.
Following a scoreless frame by FDU, the Red Foxes pushed
ahead in the bottom of the third when Zahka doubled home Kuzma to make the
score 3-2 in Marist's favor. Zahka then came around to score on a Koltz single.
Down 4-2, the Knights came out and scored six in the top
fifth to make it 8-4. An insurance run was added the next inning for a five run
lead.
FDU would need it as Marist added two runs in the bottom of
the sixth via a Koltz two-run home run.
Each team would go scoreless in the seventh inning to give
FDU the 9-6 victory and a two-game sweep of Marist.
For the day, freshman Janine Lalli (Eastchester, N.Y.) and
Koltz led the team with a .500 batting average on identical 3-6 days at the
plate. Senior Ashley Corriss (Sayville, N.Y.) collected a team-high five hits
in 11 at bats.
The team will next be in action on Friday, Feb. 24 in the
first of four games at a tournament hosted by North Carolina A&T in
Greensboro, N.C. Their first game on Friday will be versus Western Carolina.
