POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – No. 1 Marist Softball fell to No. 2 Monmouth, 5-4, in the winner's bracket, but rebounded against No. 5 Niagara, 5-4, to advance to the 2019 MAAC Championship on Saturday, May 11 at 11:00 a.m.
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The Red Foxes make their first appearance in the title contest since 2016, when they defeated the Hawks to capture their third MAAC Championship. Monmouth, the 2018 champion, heads to its fifth consecutive championship. Niagara finishes in third place and concludes its season.
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- Marist broke the ice in the bottom of the second. After Oberdorf socked a leadoff double and moved to third on a sacrifice, Morgan Gianelle poked a hit past second for an RBI single.
- Monmouth retaliated with a Sam Tomasetti solo home run to right field in the top of the third.
- Tomasetti and Amber Wozniak connected on two solo shots to put the Hawks ahead 3-1 in the top of the sixth.
- In the bottom of the frame, Claire Oberdorf added an RBI groundout to score Page, trimming the Marist deficit to 3-2. The Hawks narrowly missed a tag that would've resulted in an inning-ending double play.
- In the next at-bat, Kaley Coltrain blasted a two-run home run to left-center field, just over the fence to put Marist ahead 4-3.
- Deangie Jimenez returned the favor with a two-run shot to left, the fourth homer for the Hawks. Monmouth retook the lead, 5-4.
- Hailee Jantorno pinch hit to begin the bottom of the seventh and reached second on an error. Page walked to put runners on first and second, but Monmouth stranded them at the end.
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- Coltrain finished 1-for-2 with the homer and two RBI.
- Gianelle picked up two of Marist's seven hits.
- Phippen went six-plus innings, allowing six hits, five runs, two walks, and six strikeouts (all of them swinging).
- For Monmouth, Tomasetti finished with two homers, while Alyssa Irons tossed seven innings of four-run ball to pick up her 29th win of the year.
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- In the first inning, with Caroline Baratta on third and Ali Milam on first, Brandi Coon executed a safety squeeze, bringing home the game's first run.
- Marist executed a delayed steal moments later; Oberdorf dashed for second, and a throwing error gave Milam ample time to score.
- Coltrain then rapped an RBI single to right-center, capping a three-run first for the Red Foxes.
- In the third inning, Gianelle smoked a two-run double to the left field wall, scoring Coon and Oberdorf and chasing Purple Eagles starter Jennifer Szilagyi.
- As the Red Foxes led 5-0, Niagara notched its first run on an RBI single from Rachel Funk in the fourth.
- Megan Beiermeister racked up two strikeouts in the fifth.
- In the top of the sixth, with two outs, Niagara's Jenna Patterson roped a single to left that plated two runs. However, Oberdorf tagged out pinch-runner Bella Garone at third to limit further damage.
- Oberdorf made an excellent catch against the fence of the Marist dugout for the first out in the seventh inning.
- Moments later, Nicole Teague snared a screaming liner off All-MAAC First Team selection Jerri Ann Orfano, but a throwing error gave Niagara a run to cut the Red Fox lead to 5-4.
- Milam ended the game with a diving catch in right field to rob Kendall Watkins.
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- All of the Red Foxes' games in the tournament have been decided by one run.
- Baratta posted two hits, while Gianelle collected two RBI.
- Beiermeister tossed six innings, allowing three runs (two earned) off eight hits, three walks, and six strikeouts. Seventy-four of her 110 pitches went for strikes.
- Maggie Vesneske went 3-for-4 to pace the Purple Eagles, while Sierra Bertrand went three and two-thirds innings in relief.
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- The Red Foxes have to defeat the Hawks twice in order to gain the MAAC's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Softball Tournament.
- The game begins at 11:00 a.m. and airs on ESPN+. Should Marist claim victory, another tilt will begin shortly thereafter.
