LAWRENCEVILLE, New Jersey – The Marist softball team clinched a berth in the 2018 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference softball championship on Sunday.
 
The Red Foxes split a doubleheader at Rider. They won the first game by a score of 13-4 in six innings. Midway through its second game, Marist clinched a berth by virtue of Fairfield's second victory of the day over Canisius. Rider then prevailed in game two, 7-6.
 
Game One – Marist 13, Rider 4 (6 innings)
Summary

• Marist scored four runs in its first at-bat. Ali Milam's two-run homer got the Red Foxes on the scoreboard. Lauren Beal then drove in Kourtney Paul with a single, and Jade Sinskul's bases-loaded walk forced home Brandi Coon.
• Milam's opposite field homer gave Marist a 5-0 lead in the second.
• Rider scored three runs in the bottom of the second, which included a two-run single by Sam Ward.
• Caroline Baratta's two-out single in the third brought in Miranda Perez, and made Marist's lead 6-3.
• Milam drew a leadoff walk to start the fourth, and Coon's homer two batters later gave Marist and 8-3 advantage.
• Keegan Zavodnik led off the bottom of the fourth with a homer for Rider.
• Milam's RBI single gave Marist a 9-4 lead in the fifth.
• The Red Foxes then put the game with four runs in the fourth. A fielder's choice off the bat of Casey Page brought home Coon. Brittany Colombo was then hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, which forced home a run. Milam then closed out the scoring with a two-run single.

 
Stats

• Milam went 4-for-4 with a career-high six RBIs and three runs scored. It was the first two-homer game of her career.
• Coon was 3-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBIs.
• Megan Beiermeister (12-9) pitched a complete game and gave up just five hits.
• For Rider, Zavodnik drove in two runs and scored two.

 
Game Two – Rider 7, Marist 6
Summary

• Paul's RBI fielder's choice brought home Colombo with the game's run in the top of the first.
• Rider took the lead in the bottom of the first, scoring all three of its runs with two outs. A bloop single by Elyse Cuttic home Toni Nino and tied the score. Kiera Swank followed with a two-run homer.
• Marist re-claimed the lead in the top of the second. Colombo delivered a two-run single, and Coon followed with a two-run double two batters later.
• Milam's RBI single in the fourth, her seventh RBI of the day, brought home Baratta, and extended Marist's lead to 6-3.
• Rider scored a run on an error in the fifth.
• The Broncs won the game with a three-run seventh. Elyse Cuttic's RBI single with two outs tied the game, and she scored from first on Shelby Miller's game-winning double.

 
Key Stats

• Colombo went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs.
• Coon was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
• Nicole Teague (3-8) took the loss for the Red Foxes, but went six innings in relief.
• Cuttic went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs. She also allowed just one run in 5.2 innings of relief for the win.

 
Records
Marist finished the regular season at 24-30 overall, and 9-11 in the MAAC. Rider finished its season at 17-33 overall and 8-12 in the MAAC.
 
Up Next
Marist is the #6 seed in this week's MAAC Softball Championship, which will take place at Monmouth. The Red Foxes open the championship against #3 Siena on Wednesday. Game time is yet to be announced.