FAIRFAX, Va. - The Red Foxes won a pair of games in the first day of play at the Patriot Classic hosted by George Mason University on Saturday afternoon. After inclement weather cancelled yesterday's scheduled action, Marist came away with two wins on Saturday, a 6-0 shutout over Cornell and a 7-4 decision over Rider. Red Fox pitchers Emily Osterhaus (Suwanee, Georgia) and Paige Lewis (Temecula, Calif.) combined to allow just one earned run in 14 innings pitched, while freshman Taylor Kuzma (Freehold, N.J.) paced the offense with four hits and a double.

MARIST 6 - CORNELL 0: The Red Foxes came out in their 10 a.m. opener and dominated the Big Red from start to finish. Lights out pitching and production from the bottom of the order were the stories of the game for Marist.

After a three up-three down first inning, Marist's offense manufactured four runs in the bottom of the second. With sophomore Alyssa Zahka (Lexington, Mass.) on second following a walk and stolen base, sophomore Haley Birnbaum (Lido Beach, N.Y.) connected on a Lauren Marx pitch and drove a single to left-center field to bring Zahka around for the first run of the game. Marist's next batter freshman Janine Lalli (Eastchester, N.Y.) doubled in sophomore Aly Klemmer (Hamilton, N.J.) to make the score 2-0 in the Red Foxes' favor. Kuzma, the nine-hole hitter, kept the offense moving as she drove in Birnbaum with a single in the next at bat. The fourth run of the inning was scored after Kuzma got in a run-down and Lalli successfully broke for home.

Up 4-0, Marist added solo RBIs in the fourth and fifth innings via a sac-fly by senior Ashley Corriss (Sayville, N.Y.) and an RBI single by senior Nicole DiVirgilio (Aston, Pa.) to make it 6-0.

One run by the Red Fox offense would have been sufficient in this contest as junior pitcher Emily Osterhaus was in complete control of Cornell throughout. Following a strikeout of her first batter of the game, Osterhaus sat down seven more opponents on her way to an eight strikeout, two hit, seven inning shutout. With this effort she evened her record at 1-1 on the young season.

Offensively, Kuzma led five Red Foxes, who tallied hits in the game with a pair of singles. Overall, the 6-7-8-9 hitters went 5-10 with four RBIS and four runs scored in the 6-0 Red Fox victory.

MARIST 7 - RIDER 4: The hot hitting and strong pitching of game one carried over for the Red Foxes in game two of the day versus Rider University. Four batters registered multiple hits on the way to Marist's 7-4 win.

The scoring started early for the Red Foxes as they posted five unanswered runs in their first two innings. Consecutive hits by Ashley Corriss and junior Sarah Carmody (Camarillo, Calif.) began the game for Marist. Corriss came around to score on an Alyssa Zahka single, while Carmody scored via a passed ball. Zahka accounted for Marist's third run as she was driven in by an Aly Klemmer double.

In the second, Janine Lalli started the scoring as she single to lead off the inning before eventually coming around to score on a bases loaded walk drawn by Zahka. Corriss, the second batter of the inning, reached on a single and was driven in by Nicole DiVirgilio.

Down 5-0 going into the bottom of the second inning, the Broncs pushed three unearned runs across to tighten the game up at 5-3.

The Marist offense was still in high gear in its next at bat as Taylor Kuzma led off with a double to right-center field. She notched the Red Foxes' sixth run of the game when Lalli drove her in two batters later.

Following a fourth Rider run in the bottom of the third inning, Marist capped the game's scoring at 7-4 with a single run in the top of the fourth. Zahka touched home plate for the second time in the game after starting the inning with a single and scoring on a fielding error by Rider's third baseman.

This was the fourth straight inning in which the Red Foxes' leadoff batter had reached base with a hit. A single by Carmody in the fifth inning would make it a five-for-five start of the game for Marist. Klemmer extended it to six straight innings with a leadoff baserunner when she drew a walk the next frame.

Sophomore starting pitcher Paige Lewis did her part in holding Rider's offense at bay as she earned her first win of the year with a final stat line of seven innings pitched, six strikeouts, six hits allowed and just one earned run.

Offensively, Carmody led all Red Fox batters with a perfect 3-3 day at the plate to go along with one walk and one run scored. Other Red Foxes with multiple hits included: Corriss, who went 2-4 with two runs scored, Zahka, who was 2-4 with two RBIs and two runs and Kuzma, who was 2-2 with a walk and run scored.

With the 7-4 victory, Marist extends its win streak to three games and moves to 4-5 on the season.

The Red Foxes will conclude their play at the Patriot Classic on Sunday with a pair of games, a 9 a.m. meeting with Akron and a 1:30 first pitch versus George Mason.