Pioneers Rally Late but Fall 7–6 to Iona

Friday, April 10

New Rochelle, NY

3 p.m.

Sacred Heart

10-20, 0

Iona

10-17, 0

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
SHU	0	1	2	0	0	1	0	0	2	6	12	0
Iona	0	0	3	3	0	0	0	0	1	7	9	2

Pioneers Rally Late but Fall 7–6 to Iona

4/10/2026 6:19:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

New Rochelle, N.Y. – Sacred Heart battled back to tie the game in the ninth, but Iona answered in the bottom half.

By: Julia Groff

New Rochelle, N.Y. – Sacred Heart battled back to tie the game in the ninth, but Iona answered in the bottom half.

Records
Sacred Heart | 10-20 (7-6 MAAC)
Iona | 10-17 (6-7 MAAC)

Top Performers
Peter Link: 3-4. 2 R, double
JW Fitzgerald: 2-5, RBI, 2 SB
Ronan Donohue: 1-4, R
Will Rudolph: 2-5, R, RBI
Gavin Donohue: 0-5, RBI
Jacob Schmutz: 2-4, 2 R, RBI, double
CJ Nolan: 0-3, RBI
Kyle Cincinnati: 1-3

Ryan Parker: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 6 R (6 ER), 2 BB, 5 SO
PJ Rogan: 1.1 IP, 3 H. 1 R (1 ER)

How It Happened
Sacred Heart struck early as Peter Link singled to open the game, and JW Fitzgerald reached on a fielder's choice, later stealing second and advancing to third on an error. On the mound, Ryan Parker set the tone with a strikeout in the first.

The Pioneers broke through in the second when Jacob Schmutz walked and moved to third before Will Cook drove him in with a single, giving Sacred Heart a 1–0 lead.

The offense kept rolling in the third as Ronan Donohue was hit by a pitch and Will Rudolph reached on a fielder's choice. Schmutz doubled to set up more damage, and Gavin Donohue reached on a throwing error that allowed Rudolph to score. A sacrifice bunt from CJ Nolan brought in another run, extending the lead to 3–0. However, Iona answered with three runs in the third and added three more in the fourth to take control.

Sacred Heart chipped away in the sixth as Kyle Cincinnati singled and Link followed with a double. Although Cincinnati was thrown out at the plate, Fitzgerald came through with an RBI single to cut the deficit to 6–4.

Parker continued to battle on the mound, recording multiple strikeouts through the middle innings to keep the Pioneers within reach.
In the ninth, Sacred Heart mounted a late rally as Link and Ronan Donohue each singled before Rudolph drove in Link. Schmutz followed with another clutch hit to score Ronan Donohue and tie the game at 6–6.

But Iona responded in the bottom half with the go-ahead run, handing the Pioneers a tough 7–6 loss.

Up Next
The Pioneers return to Iona for game 2 on Saturday, April 11, at 1 p.m.