BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Marist University softball team won its first NCAA Regional game in program history on Saturday, but then had its season come to an end.
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The Red Foxes defeated Saint Francis by a score of 8-0 in six innings in their first game of the day, but then fell to top-ranked Texas A&M by a score of 17-4 in five innings.
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- Marist opened in the scoring in the bottom of the first. Peyton Pusey led off with a double, and she scored on a two-out single by Maddie Pleasants.
- Miah McDonald belted a solo homer to center leading off the bottom of the third that was measured at 271 feet.
- The Red Foxes then broke the game open with four in the fourth.
- Kaitlyn Husic started a two-out rally with a walk.
- Pusey followed with a bunt single, and an error moved the runners to second and third.
- McDonald was intentionally walked.
- Haley Ahr drew a bases-loaded walk.
- Pleasants then cleared the bases with a double, making the score 6-0.
- In the fifth, Isabella Manory reached on a one-out single, and scored on Ronni Howard's double.
- In the sixth, McDonald homered to lead off the inning, which ended the game by the mercy rule.
- McDonald finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs, three runs scored, two homers, and a walk.
- Pleasants was 2-for-3 with four RBIs.
- Pusey was 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
- Kiley Myers went the distance on a four-hitter. She struck out four and walked just one.
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- Texas A&M scored four in the top of the first, an inning that included a two-run homer by KK Dement.
- Marist scored in the bottom of the first. Peyton Pusey led off with a bunt single, and later scored on a wild pitch.
- Texas A&M scored once in the top of the second, but the Red Foxes countered in the bottom half. Ronni Howard drew a one-out walk, and she came home on Pusey's triple.
- Texas A&M scored 10 in the top of the fourth, which included a grand slam from Amarri Harper.
- Maddie Gore's two-run double in the bottom of the fourth brought in Sienna Kunze and Kaitlyn Husic.
- Texas A&M tacked on two more in the fifth.
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- Marist's win was its first in NCAA Tournament play, and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference' first since 2008.
- Pleasants set the Marist and MAAC single-season record for runs batted in. She finished with 74 this season.
- McDonald's walk-off home run in game one gave her 200 career RBIs.
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- Marist finished the season at 48-9-1.
- The Red Foxes set a program record for wins in a season, and went 37-4-1 since March 1.
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- Special thank you to our senior class, who accomplished so much on the field and in the classroom the last four years: Maddie Gore, Ronni Howard, Kaitlyn Husic, Miah McDonald, Isabella Milazzo, Lauren Morrell, Kiley Myers, and Maddie Pleasants.
- This class won 138 games, two MAAC championship, two MAAC regular-season championships, and the program's first NCAA Tournament game.
- All eight have been MAAC All-Academic Team selections.
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