Iona Upsets Manhattan 10-0 in the First Round of the Softball Championship
MAAC Sports
BUFFALO, N.Y. – Six-seed Iona College picked up a 10-0 six inning win over third-seed Manhattan College in the first round of the 2015 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Softball Championship at Demske Sports Complex in Buffalo, New York on the campus of Canisius College.
With the contest scoreless through five innings, Iona’s Ashlyn Morris hit a single down the left field line to load the bases in the top of the fifth with two outs. The next batter, Kristen Turner, hit a base hit into right field for a two-run single, breaking the scoreless drought and giving Iona a 2-0 edge. Christine Costello followed up Turner’s single with an RBI single of her own, extending the lead to 3-0. A two-run single by Sarah Schutz and RBI singles by Courtney Miller and Kelsey Long would add to Iona’s lead, sending the game into the bottom of the fifth with the score of 7-0.
Manhattan would fail to score any points in the inning, keeping the score at 7-0 heading into the sixth. In the top of the six, Turner would make it a 9-0 game on a two-run home run to right center. Then, with two outs in the frame, Schutz hit a home run down the left field line making it a 10-0 lead for the Gaels and forcing Manhattan to need at least three runs to send the game into the final inning, which the Jaspers fell short of ending the game in the six innings.
Iona’s Costello (6-7) earned the win, fanning eight batters on the day. Manhattan’s Amy Bright (14-9) received the loss, giving up seven hits and five runs while striking out four.
Iona will play the second-seed Fairfield University, Thursday morning at 9:00 a.m. Manhattan will play at 4:30 with an opponent still to be determined.