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Rosie Gomez waits for a pitch in a home game against Iona at the Demske Sports Complex on April 12, 2025.
Lindy Feider
1
Iona ION 19-14, 13-3 MAAC
2
Winner Canisius CAN 17-17, 7-5 MAAC
Iona ION
19-14, 13-3 MAAC
1
Final
2
Canisius CAN
17-17, 7-5 MAAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Iona ION 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
Canisius CAN 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 8 0

W: Manchester, Olivia (12-1) L: Hoppe, Allison (9-7)

Game Recap: Softball |

Softball Battles Back to Post a Walk-Off Win Over Iona

A solo homer off the bat of freshman Cara Edwards and a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by senior Rosie Gomez proved to be the difference, as the Canisius softball team scored twice in the bottom of the seventh inning to earn a 2-1 win over Iona in MAAC action Sunday afternoon at the Demske Sports Complex.
 
The win, which allowed the Golden Griffins to take 2-of-3 games from Iona in the weekend series, improved the Blue and Gold to 17-17 overall and 7-5 in league play, while Iona slipped to 19-14 overall and 13-3 in conference games.
 
GAME RECAP
Trailing 1-0 heading into the home-half of the seventh, Edwards knotted the score at 1-1 after she blasted the first pitch of the frame from Iona hurler Allison Hoppe well over the fence in left field. After Hoppe got the next Canisius batter out, she walked senior Alyssa Cloutier, who promptly moved to third base on a single through the right side of the infield off the bat of freshman Tabitha von Kolen. With runners at second and third, sophomore Ella Johel walked on the next four pitches, setting the scene for Gomez.
 
Gomez was able to end the game with a sacrifice fly to left. The ball was hit deep enough to allow Cloutier to tag-up from third and then slide into home safely, pushing Canisius to its fifth win in its last eight outings.
 
Canisius starter Olivia Manchester earned her team-leading 12th victory of the season in the circle after she allowed just one run on one Iona hit to go along with eight strikeouts. The Gaels scored their only run in the top-half of the first on their only hit of the contest. In that inning, Iona's Hailey Guerrero drew a two-out walk and then raced around the bases on a base hit to right by teammate Brooke Acker. On that play, Acker got caught in a rundown between first and second base, and the Griffs were able to record the out to end any more potential damage.
 
From there, Manchester took over, retiring 16 straight and 18 of the next 19 batters she faced. After the Gaels scored in the first, Iona did not have a base runner reach second base for the remainder of the day.
 
The Griffs banged out eight hits off Hoppe, who was the tough-luck loser after she allowed just two runs and fanned seven Canisius hitters. Before the seventh inning, Canisius only had runners reach as far as second base in the third and fifth innings. von Kolen, Edwards and junior Sofia Escoto each had a pair of hits in the win, with von Kolen and junior Bailey Alatorre each recording doubles. von Kolen also stole a base for the Griffs, her 12th stolen bag of the season.
 
GAME NOTES
• Canisius leads the all-time series with Iona, 53-23. The Griffs have defeated Iona in 13 of the last 15 meetings between the two programs.
• Sunday marked the Griffs' second walk-off win of the season, and it was the team's first walk-off win in the seventh inning. Canisius scored a single run in the bottom of the ninth to defeat Rider 2-1 back on April 4.
• Canisius is now 5-3 on the year in one-run games and the Blue and Gold improved to 11-5 on the season when someone in the Canisius lineup hits a home run.
• Manchester earned the win in both of her starts on the weekend against Iona, where she fanned 17 batters and allowed a total of three hits in 14.0 innings of work.
•  Manchester has allowed two-or fewer runs in eight of her 14 starts this season.
• Gomez's game-winning RBI was the 98th run batted in for her career. That ties her for 11th in school, history with former Griffs Amy Vrendenburgh (1991-94) and Lauren Castro (2016-20).
• Edwards' homer was her third of the season, and it was her first since she had two home runs at Penn State on March 7.
• von Kolen extended her hitting streak to eight-straight game with her two hits on Sunday.
 
UP NEXT
Canisius will wrap up its season-long 10-game MAAC homestand on Tuesday when the Griffs play host to Saint Peter's for a league doubleheader. Game one of the two-game set is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.
 
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