As of late, the Iona University softball team has been extremely up and down. After starting the season with four wins and 14 losses, the team has compiled a record of 7-7. Most of those wins came within a five-game win streak and the losses came within three groups of two game losing streaks as well as a loss to Columbia University. Going into their three-game series against Marist University from April 20-21, the softball team was on a one game losing streak and was looking to improve their 13-22 record.
The Gaels first took on in-conference opponents Marist University in a three-game series, where the Gaels would only win one game. That game was the second game in a double header on April 20, in which the Gaels would win 1-0 in extra innings.
The Gaels would split that double header, losing the first game 6-2. The star for Iona for both those games, especially the second one, was sophomore shortstop Hailey Guerrero, who hit a homerun for the go-ahead run in the second game of the double header.
The Gaels played the Red Foxes again the next day but would lose 6-1. The only run for the Gaels in the third game in the series would come from rookie designated hitter, MJ Nicholson. Iona was set up to play two non-conference games in between their conference sets, but only ended up playing one.
This one game would be an 8-6 loss to the SUNY Stony Brook University Seawolves on April 23.
The other affair, which would’ve taken place on April 24 at Sacred Heart University, was canceled and has not been rescheduled.
The Gaels then faced Mount Saint Mary’s University in another three-game series at home in New Rochelle, N.Y. The first two games of the series were double headers, taking place on April 27 and both being losses for Iona.
Iona lost the first game 4-2, despite a six-inning, five-strikeout outing from senior pitcher Samantha Rieb.
In the second game, Iona scored a run in the first inning but lost 12-1 in five innings after the mercy rule was applied.
The next day would be the final game of the series and the softball team’s Senior Day. The stars of the game would be senior catcher Jamie Sheeran, who went 2-for-3 with a home run and four RBIs, and Rieb, who pitched six shutout innings in a 6-0 win for the Gaels.
The win on April 28 provides some momentum for the team going into their final games of the regular season, which is three-game series away at St. Peter’s University from May 4-5.
