STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The Wagner softball team split their doubleheader with Iona on Thursday, winning the second game of the twin bill 6-5.
The Seahawks got off to a slow start in the first game of the day, giving up runs in each of the first two innings. A pair of RBI-base hits in each of the first two innings gave Iona an early 2-0 lead.
Junior starting pitcher
Jill Theodorou settled down in the third inning, retiring all three batters in order, but Iona would come back and score six runs unanswered in the next three innings. A lead off home run in the top of the fourth, a two-run homer in the fifth, and a three-run shot in the sixth put the Gaels up eight runs.
The Seahawks went down in order in the bottom of the sixth, and the game ended via run-rule 8-0. '
Iona struck first again in the second game, scoring four runs in the first three innings, including three unearned runs to put Wagner in a hole.
But the Seahawks battled back, taking advantage of an early error by the Iona infield. After junior second baseman
Leilani Gonzales pushed a run across with a single, freshman third baseman
Emma Chambers sent a two-out two-run base hit up the middle to shrink their deficit to 4-3.
Iona plated one more run in the top of the fifth, but the Seahawks answered with a pair in the bottom half of the frame. Chambers picked up her third RBI of the game with a base hit, then junior left fielder
Sammy Bolton drew a bases-loaded walk with two outs to tie the game.
Wagner took their first lead of the day in the bottom of the sixth. After a lead-off triple from freshman center fielder
Ava Nawrocki, senior first baseman
Geanice Morales brought her home when she pulled a single, giving Wagner its first lead of the day. Iona's batters went down in order in the top of the seventh, and Wagner wrapped up a 6-5 victory.
Bolton, Chambers, Gonzales, and Morales each picked up a pair of hits, and junior pitcher
Karson Zavala picked up the win in relief, striking out a pair in an inning and a third.
The Seahawks will return to the diamond on Saturday, March 28, when they will play a doubleheader against NEC opponent New Haven. The first game will start at 1 p.m., and the second game will start at approximately 3 p.m.
