THE BASICS:


RESULT: Iona 12, Hartford 2 (6)
LOCATION: Mike Sheppard, Sr., Field (South Orange, N.J.)
RECORDS: Iona (8-9), Hartford (2-15)

THE LEAD:
Lexi Wilkerson drove in her team-leading 12^th run of the season, but a consistent Iona offense led the Gaels past the Hartford softball team, 12-2, on Saturday in the Hawks' first game of the Pirate Invite, hosted by Seton Hall.
 
Kristen Turner hit a two-run homer and added three sacrifice flies in the win for Iona, while Ashlyn Morris (3-for-5, 3 runs) and Alana Evans (2-for-4, 3 runs) also had big offensive days for the Gaels. Evans struck out 10 in six innings, scattering three hits.
 
Isabella Gerone was carded with the loss for Hartford after giving up five runs, but just two earned, in four innings in the circle. Kylie Dazalla and Danielle DeMarco each had hits and scored runs in the loss.


HOW THEY SCORED:
• Iona took a quick lead when Turner hit a one-out, two-run homer to left field in the top of the first.
• The Hawks came right back in the bottom, with Dazalla sprinting home on a wild pitch to cut the lead to 2-1.
• Wilkerson followed, and her single to left brought home DeMarco to tie the game at 2-2.
• The score remained that way until the third, when Turner delivered a sac fly to center to bring home Morris with an unearned run to make it 3-2.
• The Gaels added two more runs in the top of the fourth and two in the top of the fifth to push the advantage to 7-2.
• Iona finished things off in the top of the sixth with five runs on three hits to result in the final score.
 
UP NEXT:
The Hawks continue the Pirate Invitational with games against Brown (10 a.m.) and host Seton Hall (12:15 p.m.) on Sunday. Live stats for both games will be available through HartfordHawks.com, with live video for the Seton Hall contest also provided.