JERSEY CITY, New Jersey – The Marist softball team qualified for the MAAC Championship on Monday. Needing one win against Saint Peter's on Monday to clinch a berth, the Red Foxes earned a 12-2 triumph in game one in five innings. Then, Marist earned an 8-0 triumph in the second game.
Pitchers
Calista Phippen and
Maddie Pleasants both tossed complete games, and neither issued a walk.
Marist had 27 hits on the day, led by
Miah McDonald with five. McDonald also had totals of five RBIs and four runs scored.
- Shea Walsh ripped a leadoff double, which was followed by an infield single by Sam Freeland and walk by Caroline Baratta. Two batters later, Maddie Pleasants' hard ground ball went into the left field corner and cleared the bases for a three-run double.
- Alyssa Grupp singled, and then stole second. Pleasants came on an errant throw with the Red Foxes' fourth run in the top of the first.
- Maddie Gore's sacrifice fly brought home Grupp with Marist's fifth run in the first.
- Shea Walsh led off the top of the second with a homer to right field to extend Marist's lead to 6-0. The Red Foxes added another in the second on Miah McDonald's RBI single, which plated Baratta.
- Meghan Davis led off the third with a double. Gore's single then drove home pinch-runner Hannah Brock with the Red Foxes' eighth run.
- Maiah Skakal's two-run homer cut Marist's lead to 8-2 in the fourth.
- The Red Foxes answered with four in the fifth, all with two outs. Baratta's double brought home Walsh. McDonald then hit a two-run homer to right-center. Pleasants singled, and was replaced by pinch-runner Kaitlyn Husic, who scored from first on an error following a single off the bat of Grupp.
- McDonald and Pleasants finished with three RBIs apiece. Walsh and Freeland both had three hits. Walsh and Baratta both scored three runs.
- Calista Phippen pitched all five innings. She scattered five hits and did not allow any walks.
- McDonald led off the top of the second with an infield single. She stole second, stole third, and scored on a ground ball single by Pleasants up the middle.
- Marist added three runs in the fifth. McDonald's two-run triple brought home Kaitlyn Husic and Baratta. McDonald then scored on a wild pitch.
- Hannah Brock's grand slam in the seventh brought home the Red Foxes' final four runs.
- Pleasants tossed her first career shutout as she allowed just four hits and zero walks with two strikeouts. She needed just 80 pitches to get through seven innings, and retired 10 straight from the third through the sixth.
- McDonald reached safely in all four of her plate appearances. She was 3-for-3 with three runs scored, two RBIs, two stolen bases, and a walk.
- Pleasants, Brock, and Kaitlyn Husic added two apiece as the Red Foxes pounded out 11 as a team.
- Marist concluded the regular season at 24-28 overall and 11-9 in the MAAC.
- The Red Foxes will be the #5 seed, and will open championship play against fourth-seeded Rider on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. The championship uses a double elimination format.
- By virtue of earning the #1 seed, Canisius will serve as host for the championship, with all games being played in Buffalo.
