LOUDONVILLE, NY – The Iona College softball team completed its regular season Sunday afternoon with a doubleheader split at Siena. The Gaels dropped game one 8-0, before winning game two 7-5.
In the opener, the Gaels were held to just two hits in the contest by Siena starter Amanda Gatt and never had more than one runner on base in a single inning. Offensively, Siena 1B Paige Lloyd and CF Lauren Milligan both drove in three runs apiece for the Saints in the game. Redshirt sophomore RHP Christine Costello took the loss, allowed four runs in 5.0 innings of work.
In game two, Iona got its first runs of the day in the second inning with a three-run frame. Senior CF Allison Hand drove in junior 3B Sarah Schutz and freshman C Tori Danner with a single to center field. Sophomore RF Kelsey Long scored the final run of the inning on a Siena error.
The Saints evened the score with three runs in the bottom of the third, before the Gaels went ahead 5-3 in the fourth. Long scored on another Siena miscue before sophomore SS Katie Newton drove in Hand with a single to right.
The Saints once again knotted the game up, this time scoring twice in the fourth. Danner delivered the game’s turning point in the top of the seventh inning. With two out and junior Allyne Clark on first, Danner connected on her second home run of the season to left center, pushing Iona ahead by two.
In relief of junior starter Jordan Courage, sophomore Sarah McMahon retired all five batters faced to pick up her fourth win of the season. Courage allowed five runs on eight hits in 5.1 innings.
Siena starter Lauren Butts took the loss, allowing seven runs, four earned, in 7.0 innings. The Gaels hold the sixth seed in the 2015 MAAC Championship and will face off against third seeded Manhattan Wednesday in the opening round in Buffalo, NY.
