Jaspers Win One, Lose One at St. John?s Invitational

Manhattan-Howard Box Score
Manhattan-St. John's Box Score

QUEENS, NY – After having four of its six scheduled contests in California rained out last weekend, the Manhattan College softball team returned to action on Friday with a pair of games at the St. John's Invitational.  The Jaspers (8-6) opened the tournament with a 6-0 win over Howard (3-14) before dropping a 2-1 decision to host St. John's (10-12) at Red Storm Field.

Against Howard, Manhattan broke a 0-0 tie with two runs in the bottom of the fourth.  Jenn Vazquez (Fairfield, CT) started the rally with a double to the gap in right center, then Stephanie Reinhardt (Albany, NY) reached on an infield single to give Manhattan runners on first and second with one out.  After getting the out at third on Kat Prevo's (San Diego, CA) grounder back to the pitcher, Howard went for the double play.  Prevo was safe at first, and Reinhardt took third on the play.  Prevo stole second, then Zee Pierce (Bronx, NY) hit a grounder to deep short.  She beat the throw to first, allowing Reinhardt to score the game's first run, and Prevo rounded third to make it 2-0 Jaspers.

Vazquez got another Manhattan rally started when she was hit by a pitch leading off the bottom of the sixth.  A Reinhardt triple increased the Jaspers' lead to 3-0, then pinch hitter Victoria Ross (Bloomfield, NJ) drew a walk.  Pierce knocked in another run with a single to left, and Shannon Puthe (Mullica Hill, NJ) followed with a pinch-hit double that put Manhattan up 5-0.  Puthe later scored on an error when the catcher's throw went into left field as she stole third.

That was more than enough run support for Erin Hamm (Collegeville, PA), who retired the Bison in order in the top of the seventh.  Hamm (2-1) went 5.2 innings in relief and gave up just four hits while striking out three.  Starting pitcher Danielle Gabriel (Island Heights, NJ) was lifted after 1.1 innings with an apparent injury.  She allowed two hits, walked one and struck out one.

Offensively, Reinhardt and Pierce paced the Jaspers with two hits apiece.  Reinhardt scored two runs and drove in another, while Pierce had two RBIs and a run scored.  Puthe went 1-for-1 with a run scored and an RBI.

For Howard, Imani Ballard finished 2-for-2 at the plate.  Alex Flynn was 2-for-4 and also pitched 0.2 innings of relief.  She yielded four runs on four hits and a walk.  Starting pitcher Janessa Flynn (2-5) took the loss after surrendering two runs on four hits in 5.1 innings.  She recorded six strikeouts and walked two.

On a day when the wind was blowing in from left field, costing the Jaspers at least two home runs, Elena Bowman (San Mateo, CA) was able to power one over the wall in right center in the first inning of the St. John's game.  The first homer of the year for Manhattan's all-time leader gave the Jaspers a 1-0 lead. 

However, the Red Storm immediately got a run back when Hannah Anderson doubled, then scored on Savannah Warren's RBI single in the bottom of the first.  St. John's added another run on an RBI single by Yvonne Rericha in the second.

Manhattan put at least one runner on in every inning, but St. John's starter Grace Kramer worked out of trouble each time.  Kramer got a strikeout with the tying run on second to end the top of the fifth.  Emily Cutler (Bloomingdale, NJ), meanwhile, was robbed of a game-tying extra-base hit when her sinking line drive was caught in left field to end the sixth.

In the top of the seventh, Bowman drew a one-out walk.  The Jaspers then got the tying run to second when Briana Matazinsky (Valley Falls, NY) reached on an error.  However, Kramer's 14^th strikeout of the contest ended the Red Storm's 2-1 victory.

Matazinsky (2-2) suffered her second straight tough-luck loss in the circle.  She was charged with two runs on six hits while also walking two and striking out one.  Puthe had two of Manhattan's five hits, giving her three in the two games.

Hannah Anderson had two hits and scored a run for St. John's.  Rericha and Warren each finished 1-for-3 with an RBI.  Kramer (5-4), meanwhile, allowed just one run on five hits and walked three to go along with her 14 strikeouts.