College Softball
Iona College
1, Rider University 0
Iona College 11, Rider University
1 / 5 innings
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y.—The Rider University
softball team had its four-game conference winning streak snapped as Iona College
defeated the Broncs in a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference doubleheader Sunday
afternoon.
In the
opener, Rider (10-20-1, 4-2 MAAC) was held to two hits and lost 1-0.
Scoreless
in the second inning, the Gaels, with two outs, hit a double and followed with
an RBI single to get on the board.
Senior Ally Melia (Toms River/Toms River HS North) and sophomore Lucy Higgins (Westminster, Mass./Notre
Dame Academy) each had singles for Rider with Higgins breaking up Gael pitcher Sarah
Jackson's no-hitter with two outs in the fifth. Jackson
recorded 13 strikeouts for her ninth win of the season.
“The opener
was a great ball game between two tough teams,” said head coach Tricia Carroll. “Their pitcher and Rachael (Matreale)
both did a great job, getting strikeouts and getting ground balls. It was just a well pitched game on both
sides. It was a good game with a
disappointing outcome.”
Sophomore
Rachael Matreale (Williamstown) scattered six hits and recorded five strikeouts
in the complete game effort after no-hitting Marist on Saturday. "Rachael had a great weekend," Carroll added.
“We worked
on making adjustments at the plate but couldn't quite connect,” Carroll said.
Game two
was tied at one in the fourth inning when Iona
put the game away with 10 runs on nine hits.
“The second
game was tied and Iona bunched some hits
together,” Carroll said. “We had a chance to get out of the inning 3-1
but couldn't make that play and then Iona just
kept hitting the ball and it got away from us.”
Trailing
1-0, Rider tied the game in the fourth on a bases loaded walk by freshman
Heather Muscara which scored Melia who had led off with a single.
Junior Sam Bennett (Staten Island, N.Y./Tottenville) took
the loss for the Broncs in game two.
Rider entered play having out-scored its conference opponents 36-4 in four games including
three wins by shutout, compiling a .480 team batting average. The Broncs went four for 40 (.100) against the Gaels on Sunday.
“All three
of the Iona pitchers we saw today were
excellent,” Carroll said. “They did a
great job shutting down what I think is a great lineup. We have been tough to shutdown, especially in
MAAC play so far and Iona kept us off the
board pretty much the whole day."
Even with being
swept, Rider matches its best six-game start to conference play in six seasons with
the 2004 squad having also won four of six.
Rider leads
the all-time series against the Gaels 16-11.
The Broncs split two games against Iona
in Lawrenceville last season.
“Iona (4-0 MAAC) is a good, tough team,” Carroll added. “I told our team after the game that I expect that we
will face them again at the MAAC championships in Buffalo.”
The four-team conference playoffs will be hosted by Canisius May
13-16. Rider missed the playoffs by one
game last season.
The Broncs
travel to Stony Brook on April 17 for a non-conference doubleheader.
-RU-
