Manhattan Suffers Pair of One-Run Losses

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – On its second day of action at the Rebel Spring Games, the Manhattan College softball team dropped a pair of one-run decisions on Saturday.  The Jaspers (0-4) opened the day with an 8-7 loss to Akron (7-2), then suffered a 9-8 extra-inning defeat against Utah Valley (2-13) at the DiamondPlex.

The Jaspers got on the board immediately against Akron.  Kate Bowen (Newtown, Conn.) singled leading off the bottom of the first, then scored on Elena Bowman's (San Mateo, Calif.) double.  Manhattan loaded the bases when Amanda Paxson (Cedar Grove, N.J.) reached on an error and Sydney Weedon (Santa Ana, Calif.) was hit by a pitch, but Akron got out of the inning without allowing another run.  The Zips recorded two force outs at home before Andi Stallard (Katy, Texas) struck out to end the inning.

Manhattan added three more in the second, though.  Stephanie Reinhardt (Albany, N.Y.) reached on an error to start the inning, moved to second on Emily Cutler's (Bloomingdale, N.J.) sacrifice bunt and took third on a Bowen single.  Bowman then drew a walk to load the bases for Paxson, who ripped an RBI double.  Weedon was up next, and she belted a two-run single that gave Manhattan a 4-0 lead.

However, the Zips responded with a four-spot in the top of the third to tie the game.  Akron then took the lead with four more runs in the fourth.  After Chelsea Widley ripped a two-run double, Taryn Allmon walked to load the bases.  Jessica Reiman followed with a double to left field.  Two runs came across on the play, but Allmon was thrown out trying to score from first, ending the inning.

Paxson led off the bottom of the fifth with a single, and Weedon followed with a base hit.  After the runners moved up on a sacrifice, Paxson beat the throw home on a fielder's choice by Mickayla Romero (Las Vegas, Nev.).  Pinch hitter Jenn Vazquez (Fairfield, Conn.) then reached on catcher's interference to load the bases before Reinhardt delivered an RBI single.  Cutler followed with an RBI ground it that made it 8-7.  That's the way it would remain, though, as Akron got out of the inning before retiring the Jaspers in order in the sixth and allowing just a two-out single to Vazquez in the seventh.

Three different Jaspers had two hits in the game, with Weedon going 2-for-2 with two RBIs.  Paxson was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI, while Bowen had a pair of hits and scored a run.  Amy Bright (Manlius, N.Y.) took the loss after allowing eight runs (six earned) on 11 hits while striking out three and walking three in seven innings of work.

Roudabush went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI for Akron.  Widley was 2-for-3 with a run scored and four RBIs, while Reiman ended up 2-for-4 with two runs scored.  Shawna Mailloux added two hits and two runs scored, and Jessica Schneider also scored twice.  MacKenzie Conrad pitched the first two innings, giving up four runs (one earned) on five hits, striking out two and walking one.  Sara Pearson (2-0) earned the win after surrendering two runs (three earned) on three hits with two strikeouts in 2.1 innings.  Erin Seiler allowed one hit and struck out three over the final 2.2 innings to pick up the save.

Against Utah Valley, Manhattan again got on the board early, scoring two unearned runs in the top of the first.  The Wolverines got one back in the bottom half of the inning, but the Jaspers increased their cushion to 5-1 with a three-spot in the fourth.  Bowman delivered a two-run triple and Paxson followed with an RBI single.

After Utah Valley scored one in its half of the fourth, Manhattan put up another three-spot in the top of the fifth.  Romero started the rally with a single and advanced to third on an error.  After Reinhardt was hit by a pitch to load the bases, it looked like the Wolverines might get out of it when they got back-to-back outs at the plate.  However, Reinhardt scored on a passed ball, then, after Bowman drew a walk, Paxson and Vazquez were both hit by pitches with the bases loaded.

The Wolverines began their comeback with two runs in the fifth.  Brianna Gatlin ripped an RBI double and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Debra Lovell.  Utah Valley then scored four times in the sixth to tie the game.  Gatlin again started the rally with an RBI single before Brittney Vansway knocked her in with a double to right.  The next batter was Hailey Kofler, and she lifted a two-run homer that knotted the score at 7-7.

Neither team scored in the seventh, so the contest went into extra innings, where the international tiebreaker rule was used.  Manhattan began the top of the eighth with Bright placed on second, but she remained there.  Utah Valley then won the game on Dynasty Lauvai's single in the bottom of the eighth.

Seven different Jaspers had a hit against Utah Valley, with Bowman going 1-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs.  Reinhardt and Cutler each added a pair of runs, while Paxson knocked in two.  Bowen started in the circle and lasted four innings.  She allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits, struck out five and walked one.  Danielle Gabriel (Island Heights, N.J.) surrendered six runs (five earned) and five hits while striking out two and walking two over two innings of work, while Bright (0-3) took the loss after giving up an unearned run and one hit in one inning.  She also recorded a strikeout.

Utah Valley collected 11 hits in the contest, with Kofler finishing 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored.  Lauvai was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI, while Gatlin ended up 2-for-4 with a run scored and two driven in.  Bailey Moore got the start in the circle and yielded two unearned runs on one hit while striking out one and walking two over three innings of work.  Kelsey Lawton pitched the fourth, and she surrendered three runs on four hits with a pair of walks.  Kailey Christensen allowed three unearned runs and a hit in 0.2 innings, and Dara Rahm (1-0) earned the victory after giving up just a hit and striking out five over 3.1 innings of shutout relief.

Manhattan concludes its stay in Florida with a pair of contests on Sunday.  The Jaspers take on Creighton (4-9) at 10 a.m. before facing off with Bucknell (2-7) at 12 p.m.