Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - After waiting three extra days to open its 2011 season, the Manhattan College softball team was ready. The offense belted four home runs, including two by Ashley Rampino (Manalapan, N.J.), and Rampino and Erika Sullivan (Bay Shore, N.Y.) both turned in sensational pitching performances, as the Lady Jaspers (2-0) swept their season-opening doubleheader against Hartford (0-2) at Gaelic Park on Wednesday afternoon. Manhattan won the first game 10-2, then posted a 9-1 victory in the nightcap.
The Lady Jaspers struck early in game one, putting two runs on the board in the bottom of the first. After Manhattan loaded the bases on a hit batsman and two walks, Carla Velasquez (Miami, Fla.) singled to right center to drive in a pair. Hartford got one run back on a Lauren Kamena homer in the top of the third, but Manhattan responded with a four-spot in the bottom half of the inning. Monica Evangelista (Cedar Grove, N.J.) drew a leadoff walk, then Jaci Rahey (West Milford, N.J.) walked with one out. Rampino was up next and, after fouling off several two-strike pitches, she crushed one to left field for a three-run homer. Velasquez followed with a solo shot to left center that gave the Lady Jaspers a 6-1 advantage.
Hartford's Amber Andrews knocked a two-out RBI double in the top of the fourth, but Manhattan responded with one of its own in the bottom half of the inning. Sullivan and Kristina Walraven (Thompson Ridge, N.Y.) led of the inning with back-to-back singles, then moved to second and third on a groundout. Sullivan then scored on a sacrifice fly by Melissa Donnelly (Long Beach, N.Y.).
Rampino and Velasquez were at the heart of another Manhattan rally in the bottom of the fifth. Rampino got the inning started with a single to right center, then Velasquez picked up her third hit of the game with a single to right. Kelly Murray (Leominster, Mass.) then belted a long three-run homer to left field that gave the Lady Jaspers a 10-2 lead, which immediately ended the game on the eight-run rule.
Rampino and Velasquez went a combined 5-for-5 with six RBIs in game one. Murray also had three RBIs on her home run, while Evangelista scored twice. Overall, the Lady Jaspers belted eight hits in game one. Sullivan (1-0) picked up her first win of the season after giving up two runs on six hits while striking out five and walking four in five innings.
Shannon Simpkins and Chelsea Mooney each had a pair of hits for the Hawks. Siera Sheehan (0-1) lasted four-plus innings in the circle. She yielded nine runs on seven hits, struck out one and walked four. Nicole Springer gave up the Murray home run.
The Hawks scored an unearned run in the top of the first in game two. Simpkins reached on an infield single to start the game, then alertly advanced all the way to third on Kamena's sacrifice bunt. She later came across on an error.
Manhattan went in front with a two-spot in the bottom of the third. After Meghan McDevitt (Nutley, N.J.) belted a ground-rule double to straightaway center leading off the inning, Michelle Roemer (Ardsley, N.Y.) was called upon to pinch run. Roemer moved to third on a Walraven groundout and stole a run when she beat the throw home on Evangelista's foul popup. Roemer would've scored the tying run anyway, however, as Rampino followed with her second home run of the day, a blast to center field that gave the Lady Jaspers a 2-1 lead.
After putting another unearned run on the board in the fourth, the Lady Jaspers erupted for six runs in the bottom of the fifth. The rally started innocently enough on a grounder to short, but the Hartford first baseman couldn't handle the throw, allowing Evangelista to reach. After Rampino walked, Rahey roped a screeching double down the right field line to knock in Evangelista. Kate Bowen (Newtown, Conn.) followed with an RBI infield single, then, after a walk, pinch runner Amanda Berrios (Carteret, N.J.) beat the throw home on Amanda Babcock's (Haverstraw, N.Y.) ground ball to third. Two more runs scored on a bases loaded walk and a hit batsman, which brought up Evangelista for the second time in the inning. She sent a dribbler down the third base line and the only play was at first, but she beat the throw, driving in the run that gave Manhattan a 9-1 cushion.
Seven different Lady Jaspers had hits in game two, led by Evangelista's 2-for-3 performance at the plate. She also scored a run and knocked in a pair. Bowen went 1-for-2 with two runs scored in her first collegiate game. Rampino blasted a home run at the plate and threw a five-inning complete game in the circle. The only hit she allowed was the leadoff infield single, and Hartford's only run off Rampino (1-0) was unearned. She struck out three and walked one.
Kaitlyn Meade (0-1) went 4.1 innings for the Hawks, giving up nine runs (five earned) on seven hits, striking out three and walking four. Springer allowed a hit in 0.1 innings of work.
Manhattan now embarks on its annual trip to Kissimmee, Fla., for the Rebel Spring Games. The Lady Jaspers play 10 games in six days in the Sunshine State, starting with a pair of contests on Friday. Manhattan takes on Detroit (2-4) at 1 p.m., then faces Lehigh (3-8) at 5 p.m.
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