EASTON, Pa. – A potent Marist squad took both ends of a doubleheader with Lafayette softball on Friday afternoon at Metzgar Fields. Marist won game one 11-2 and game two 11-1 as the Leopards kicked off a 10-game homestand.

Senior Mary Grace O'Neill had two hits in the opener, with two runs scored, and added another base knock in the nightcap. She continues to swing a hot bat and is hitting for a .434 clip through 18 games.
 
The day started with Marist arriving late due to traffic, but the Red Foxes bats were more than ready to go. The visitors cranked out 19 hits, including five home runs in the first game.
 
The Leopards led briefly, pushing across a run in the bottom of the first inning. O'Neill reached on n lead-off error and later scored on Emma Ahlborn's RBI-groundout.
 
The advantage was short-lived, as Marist scored multiple runs in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings. Ronni Howard delivered a two-run home run in inning number two while Miah McDonald followed with a three-run shot in the fourth.
 
The Leopards scored their second and final run of the game in the third inning. Olivia Catalina followed O'Neill's one-out double with an RBI-groundout.
 
Marist added two more in the fifth on McDonald's second home run of the game and two in the seventh via a Maddie Pleasants round-tripper to push the final to 11-2.
 
Sophia Alvarez was the pitcher of record for Lafayette, surrendering seven runs on 12 hits with a strikeout and a walk. Anna Sidlowski claimed the win, tossing four innings while surrendering two unearned runs. Isabella Milazzo collected a three-inning save.  
 
Game two was more of a pitcher's duel in the early going as Makayla Lecky and Pleasants faced off in the circle.
 
Lecky went unscathed through the first two innings, but Marist got to her in the third frame. Haley Ahr drove in a pair with a two-out single. The visitors added another on an error to lead 3-0 after three and a half innings.
 
The Leopards challenged Pleasants in the fourth inning. She accounted for all six outs of the first two frames with strikeouts before the Leopards registered their first hit in the third inning. Ahlborn and Maggie Klug each drew walks to start the inning and Caroline Hall delivered a two-run single to pull Lafayette within 3-1.  Pleasants struck out the next three batters to end the inning.
 
The Red Foxes took control of the game in the fifth inning. Pleasants delivered a two-run home for the 5-1 lead. Marist went on to score three more runs in each of the final two innings for an 11-1 final.
Peasants struck out 10 in the victory, allowing one run on three hits over four innings while Emma Bayor earned a three-inning save. Lecky allowed seven earned on 11 hits over 6.2 innings. She walked two and struck out one.
 
Lafayette will be back in action on Saturday at 1 p.m., hosting a doubleheader vs. St. Peter's.