CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Marist softball team was handed two one-run losses at the University of Virginia Tournament on Saturday. The Red Foxes suffered an 8-7 loss to Delaware State in their first game of the day, and dropped a 9-8 decision to Virginia in game two.

Freshman left fielder Gabrielle Kelliher (East Brunswick, N.J.) homered in each game for the first two homers in her collegiate career. Junior shortstop Kyrsten Van Natta (Maplewood, N.J.) was 3-for-5 with four runs scored and two RBIs on the day, with two runs scored in each game.

Game One – Delaware State 8, Marist 7

The Red Foxes outhit the Hornets, 11-9. Van Natta was 1-for-2 with two runs scored, two RBIs, a stolen base, a walk, and a reach on catcher's interference. Senior second baseman Janine Lalli (Eastchester, N.Y.) was 3-for-4 with an RBI, while sophomore right fielder Janna Korak (Huntsville, Ala.) and sophomore designated player Rebecca Freeman (Robbinsville, N.J.) each had two hits and an RBI.

Delaware State scored four runs apiece in the second and fifth. The Hornets benefitted from three Marist errors in the fifth, and all four runs were unearned.

Senior Melanie White (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) pitched a complete game for the Red Foxes with four strikeouts. Her record now stands at 4-5.

For Delaware State, shortstop Chloe Oro had three RBIs, a triple, and a run scored. Jessica Shalongo (2-3) earned the victory with three innings of relief to close the game.   

Game Two – Virginia 9, Marist 8

Marist jumped out to a 3-0 lead with two runs in the first and one in the third. In the first, junior third baseman Maureen Duddy (San Mateo, Calif.) led off with a single. Van Natta followed with a double, and after two errors, both Duddy and Van Natta scored. In the third, freshman designated player Samantha Reilly (Toms River, N.J.) hit a solo home run, her third of the season.

Virginia scored twice in its half of the third, but the Red Foxes expanded their lead to 4-2 in the fourth on a Kelliher homer. However, Virginia took the lead with a six-run fourth, as the Cavaliers sent 10 hitters to the plate and pounded out six hits.

The Cavaliers added a run in the fifth to make the score 9-4, which it remained until the seventh. In the seventh, the first four Red Foxes reached safely. A two-run double by Korak made the score 9-6. Reilly and junior first baseman Colleen McWilliams (Monrovia, Calif.) added RBI singles to make it a one-run game, but the game ended on a double-play lineout.

The Red Foxes outhit the Cavaliers, 12-9. Duddy, Van Natta, Reilly and Kelliher all had two hits. For Virginia, first baseman Kaitlin Fitzgerald went 2-for-4 with four RBIs and a run scored.

Lalli (1-4), who went the first five innings, took the loss. Andie Formby (5-13) pitched a complete game for Virginia.

Marist (8-13) will close out play in the Virginia Tournament on Sunday, when the Red Foxes take on the Cavaliers at noon.