Box Score
Box Score
BUFFALO, N.Y. – On Friday afternoon, the third-seeded Manhattan College softball team (26-20) fell to fourth-seeded Siena (21-26-1) by a 4-1 count in the elimination round of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Tournament at the Demske Sports Complex. With the loss, the Jaspers saw their season come to an end.
Siena jumped in front immediately, getting a double and a single from the first two batters of the game to take a 1-0 lead. However, Manhattan immediately got that run back in the bottom of the first. Elena Bowman (San Mateo, Calif.) was hit by a pitch and Amanda Paxson (Cedar Grove, N.J.) singled before Sydney Weedon (North Tustin, Calif.) reached on an error to load the bases. With two down, Stephanie Reinhardt (Albany, N.Y.) drew a walk, forcing in the tying run.
In the top of the third, the Jaspers used some solid defense to keep the game deadlocked. Paige Lloyd took second on a leadoff error, but was thrown out trying to move to third on an infield single by Paige Hess. Hess was then gunned down attempting to take the extra base on Alyssa Lancaster's single to right, ending the inning.
The Saints broke the tie in the top of the fifth. Lloyd led off the inning with a base hit to center and Abby Carpenter followed with a double to right center. Hess was up next and she worked the count full before turning on a pitch for a long, three-run homer to left field. Manhattan Head Coach Tom Pardalis then turned to Amy Bright (Manlius, N.Y.) in relief, and she did her job, striking out the side after giving up a double to the first batter she faced.
However, the Manhattan offense couldn't get anything going off Siena's Lauren Butts, who entered in relief in the second inning. Weedon's one-out single in the third represented the Jaspers' only hit off Butts. After Bright struck out Lauren Taylor with the bases loaded to end the top of the seventh, Butts retired the Jaspers in order in the bottom half of the inning, eliminating Manhattan from the tournament. Siena, meanwhile, moved on to a matchup with second-seeded Fairfield to determine who'll face No. 5 Monmouth for the championship on Saturday.
Singles by Paxson and Weedon were Manhattan's only hits in the contest, while Bowman scored the Jaspers' run and Reinhardt collected the team's lone RBI in the game. Briana Matazinsky (Valley Falls, N.Y.) (9-7) took the loss after allowing four runs on nine hits with four walks and a strikeout in four-plus innings. Bright tossed three innings of shutout relief, giving up two hits and one walk while striking out six, bringing her season total to 139.
Hess finished 2-for-3 with a run scored and three RBIs for the Saints. Stephanie Viggiano went 2-for-4 with a run scored, while Lancaster was also 2-for-4. After starting pitcher Amanda Gatt yielded an unearned run on one hit, one walk and a strikeout in the first inning, Butts (10-10) tossed six innings of one-hit, shutout relief. She struck out six and walked one to earn the win.
Manhattan, which set a program record with 13 MAAC victories during the regular season, finished above .500 for the first time since 2011.
