KISSIMMEE, Fla. - The Manhattan College softball team was supposed to open its 2010 season with a pair of contests at the Rebel Spring Games on Saturday. Mother Nature had other ideas. The Lady Jaspers were delayed getting out of New York on Friday, then saw their season opener against Green Bay rained out. Manhattan was able to get its other scheduled contest in, albeit after a six-hour delay. In that game, the Lady Jaspers (0-1) opened the Tom Pardalis era with a 7-4 loss to Colgate (7-1) at the Osceola County Sports Complex.
Stephanie Hartquist got Colgate on the board with a sacrifice fly in the top of the first, then added an RBI single in the third. The Raiders increased their lead to 4-0 on Melissa Babb-Renta's two-run single in the top of the fourth. Colgate tacked on two more runs in the top of the fifth, but Manhattan got one back in the bottom half of the inning. After the Lady Jaspers loaded the bases on a pair of walks and a single, Jaci Rahey (West Milford, N.J.) lifted a blooper behind short. Monica Evangelista (Cedar Grove, N.J.) came across on the play to trim Manhattan's deficit to 6-1.
After the Raiders tallied another run in the top of the sixth, Manhattan put together a rally in the bottom of the seventh. Evangelista started the inning with a single, then Carla Velasquez (Miami, Fla.) drew a walk. After Kelly Murray (Leominster, Mass.) delivered a pinch-hit single to knock in Evangelista, Melissa Cascio (Kings Park, N.Y.) walked to load the bases. Freshman Jen Keller (Woodridge, N.J.), playing in her first collegiate game, was up next, and she roped a two-run single to chase Colgate starter Jesse McCarrick. Courtney O'Connell came in to relieve McCarrick and induced a groundout and a double play to end the Manhattan threat and preserve Colgate's 7-4 victory.
Five different Lady Jaspers collected hits in the game. Keller knocked in a pair, while Evangelista reached base safely in all three of her plate appearances and scored two runs. Erika Sullivan (Bay Shore, N.Y.) (0-1) got the start in the circle and went four innings. She yielded four runs on six hits while striking out one and walking four. Ashley Rampino (Manalapan, N.J.) pitched the last three innings and gave up three runs on three hits while striking out two and walking six.
Babb-Renta was 3-for-3 with three runs scored and two RBIs for the Raiders. Hartquist added two hits and two RBIs, while Jennifer Ortega went 2-for-3. McCarrick (4-0) got the win after surrendering four runs on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts in six-plus innings of work. O'Connell earned the save after retiring the only two batters she faced.
The Lady Jaspers' game against Green Bay may be rescheduled later in the week if there is a common opening in each team's schedule. Manhattan is back in action on Sunday with a pair of games. The Lady Jaspers play Columbia (0-6) at 1 p.m., then meet Tennessee-Martin (12-3) at 5 p.m.