Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. – The Manhattan College softball team began its Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) schedule with a doubleheader sweep of Siena on Monday afternoon. The Jaspers (10-8, 2-0 MAAC) used a four-run sixth to notch a 4-3 victory in the first game before knocking off the Saints (5-13, 2-2 MAAC) 3-1 in game two at Gaelic Park.
Game one started off as a pitcher's duel between Amy Bright (Manlius, N.Y.) and Lauren Butts. Neither pitcher allowed a hit until the fourth, and the contest moved into the sixth inning scoreless.
Brooke Taylor drew a walk leading off the top of the sixth for Siena before Bright retired Alyssa Lancaster on a popup and Abby Carpenter on a strikeout. After Sammy Smaldone singled, Paige Hess was hit by a pitch, loading the bases with two out. Melanie Kalesse then reached on an error, bringing home the game's first run. Lauren Milligan was up next, and she delivered a base hit to right center that gave the Saints a 3-0 lead.
Jenn Vazquez (Fairfield, Conn.) led off the bottom of the sixth with a single, then Stephanie Reinhardt (Albany, N.Y.) walked and Briana Matazinsky (Valley Falls, N.Y.) was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Meredith Bryant (Brielle, N.J.) followed with a double to center field, driving in two. There was also an error on the play, allowing Matazinsky to come across with the tying run. Bryant moved to third on a wild pitch and scored what would turn out to be the winning run on a balk. With her team now leading 4-3, Bright retired the Saints in order in the top of the seventh to finish off the victory.
Bright (6-4) threw a complete game in the circle. She allowed just four hits and three unearned runs while striking out eight and walking three. Offensively, the Jaspers were paced by Vazquez, who finished 2-for-2 with a run scored. Bryant ended up 1-for-3 with a run scored and two RBIs in game one. As a team, Manhattan collected six hits in the contest.
Smaldone had two of Siena's four hits, going 2-for-3 with a run scored. Milligan went 1-for-3 with two RBIs, while Melanie Kalesse finished 1-for-3 at the plate. Butts (2-3) lasted 5.1 innings in the circle and took the loss. She surrendered four runs on five hits, struck out nine and walked five. Amanda Gatt gave up a hit and picked up a strikeout in 0.2 innings of relief.
After game two Matazinsky got out of the top of the first with a double play ball, the Jaspers put a run on the board in the bottom half of the inning. Mickayla Romero (Las Vegas, Nev.) ripped a one-out double to left and Amanda Paxson (Cedar Grove, N.J.) was hit by a pitch, putting two runners on for Vazquez. And she delivered a line drive to the gap in left that knocked in Romero. However, the ball bounced over the fence for a ground rule double, preventing Paxson from scoring, and Siena escaped the inning having given up just the one run.
Stephanie Viggiano doubled leading off the top of the third and moved to third on Taylor's groundout. Lancaster then lifted a sacrifice fly to right field that tied the game at 1-1.
It wouldn't be tied long, though, as the heart of the Manhattan lineup rallied for two runs in the bottom of the third. Romero led off the inning with a single to center and Elena Bowman (San Mateo, Calif.) followed with a blast to right center that was just inches short of her 10th home run of the year. She settled for a double, putting runners on second and third with nobody out. After Paxson singled home a run, Vazquez drove in another with a sacrifice fly to right. Manhattan loaded the bases on back-to-back singles by Sydney Weedon (North Tustin, Calif.) and Reinhardt, but Gatt, Siena's game two starter, escaped further trouble with a strikeout and a popup.
Matazinsky, meanwhile, was cruising for the Jaspers. She allowed just three base runners after the Siena run in the third. After a one-out double by Smaldone in the sixth, Matazinsky struck out Paige Hess, who would end up being the last batter she faced, before giving way to Bright. She retired Kalesse on a line drive to end the inning, then got the first two outs in the seventh. Viggiano kept the Saints alive with a single to left, her third hit of the game, but Taylor followed with a line drive that was snagged by Paxson at second, finishing off a 3-1 victory and giving Manhattan a sweep of its first conference doubleheader of the season.
Five of the Jaspers' nine hits in game two were doubles, including a pair by Bowman. Romero ended up 2-for-3 with two runs scored, while Reinhardt was also 2-for-3. Vazquez, meanwhile, finished 1-for-2 with two RBIs. Matazinsky (3-2) earned the win after yielding just one run and four hits while striking out three and walking two in 5.2 innings. Bright picked up her first save of the year after sending down four of the five batters she faced over 1.1 innings.
Viggiano had three of Siena's five hits in game two. She also scored the Saints' only run. Taylor added a fifth-inning single and Smaldone doubled in the sixth, while Lancaster collected Siena's only RBI. Gatt (2-5) went all six innings in the circle, giving up three runs on nine hits. She struck out six and didn't walk a batter.
Manhattan was originally scheduled to visit Lehigh (19-3) for a non-conference doubleheader on Wednesday, but that twinbill has been cancelled. Instead, the Jaspers will return to action on Saturday, when they continue their 10-game homestand by welcoming Saint Peter's (1-16, 0-4 MAAC) to Gaelic Park for a 2 p.m. doubleheader.
