The Sacred Heart University softball team lost to Marist, 8-3, in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship on May 7 in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. The defeat came after a long day of games and marked Sacred Heart’s third loss to Marist this season.
This game was significant as it determined which team would advance further in the championship tournament. Marist, ranked first with a record of 35-19, secured their victory at home against fourth-seeded Sacred Heart, whose record now stands at 23-30.
Marist scored first in the bottom of the opening inning. Sacred Heart responded quickly by taking a brief lead with three runs in the top of the second inning. Elle Leckrone started the scoring for Sacred Heart with a bases-loaded single following two walks and a hit. Cierra Bender added another run with her own single to right field, and Ella Stoops drove in the team’s final run of that inning.
However, Marist regained control by scoring five runs in the bottom of the third inning and extending their lead to 6-3. Emily Heath replaced Emily Campion as pitcher for Sacred Heart during this stretch; Campion had made her first postseason start and pitched for 2.2 innings while Heath finished out the remaining 3.1 innings allowing two earned runs.
Marist added two more insurance runs in the sixth inning before closing out an error-free seventh for an 8-3 win. Notably, Leckrone finished her day going six-for-eight at bat across games played that day, while Stoops and Bender also contributed hits and RBIs earlier.
Sacred Heart will next face off against the winner of game six tomorrow at 12:30 p.m., looking to stay alive in tournament play.
