Box Score - Game One
Box Score - Game Two
RIVERDALE, N.Y. ? Manhattan swept Ivy League rival Columbia (10-28) in a baseball doubleheader on Wednesday at Robertson Field in New York City. Junior right-hander Zac Goyer pitched the first complete game of his collegiate career for his fourth win of the year in a 4-1 victory in game one. Manhattan (26-10) used home runs from Chad Salem and Kevin Nieto to propel the squad to an 8-4 triumph in the nightcap. The Jaspers have won seven straight ballgames and have won 15 of their last 16 contests.
In game one, Goyer cruised through all seven innings on the mound allowing just one run, six hits and recorded three strikeouts. He received early run support from his teammates, which began in the opening frame when Nieto knocked in Mike McCann for the first run of the ballgame.
The Lions quickly worked to tie the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the first inning on freshman first baseman Alexander Aurrichio's two-out RBI single. But, Manhattan tagged on two more runs in the third inning to regain a lead it would not relinquish. McCann scored what proved to be the game winning run after reaching base on a walk. He eventually crossed the plate on an error from Lions' second baseman Jon Eisen. Junior Anthony Armenio then notched his MAAC leading 18th double of the season to send in the second run of the inning, which gave Manhattan a 3-1 advantage.
Senior infielder Ruben Perez capped the win with a opposite field solo home run just inside the right field foul pole in the top of the sixth, marking his second blast of the year. Perez was 2-for-5 from the plate, drove in two RBI, scored two runs and stole a base in the doubleheader.
Manhattan erupted for five unanswered runs over its first three at-bats leading to the four-run victory in game two. In the first inning, McCann reached base on a single into right field with two outs. In the next at bat, Salem launched a bomb over the tall left center field fence for his seventh homer of the season. It gave the Jaspers a 2-0 edge.
Perez led off the second inning with a double down the left field line, then he scored soon after on junior catcher Jamie Fitzgerald's double into the same location and Ryan Masters RBI fielder's choice. The Jaspers tacked on two more runs in the top of the third on Armenio's RBI single and Perez's sacrifice fly ball.
Columbia scored one run in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings, but was never able to cut its lead to fewer than three. The mini surge featured Lions' left fielder Billy Rumpke's solo homer in the third inning.
Jaspers' starter Tom Costigan managed to hold off the Lions in the first four innings as he yielded just two earned runs and struck out two. Costigan earned the win and improved his record to 4-1. Reliever Mike Tibbetts twirled the fifth and sixth innings and allowed just two runs, before turning the ball over to closer Tom Moran who preserved a scoreless seventh inning.
Manhattan added three more runs as a cushion over the fifth and sixth innings, a surge that featured a two-run homer from Nieto, his team-leading 12th of the year. Nieto drove in three RBI in the doubleheader, and also scored two runs and was a perfect 2-for-2 in stolen base attempts.
Armenio and Salem each tallied three hits and two RBI this afternoon, while Fitzgerald and McCann each delivered two doubles.
Manhattan returns to Van Cortlandt Park this weekend to defend its 20-game home winning streak against MAAC rival Canisius, the longest active streak in Division I. The Jaspers will host a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at noon, and then one final game Sunday also at noon.
