Schedule:
Game 1 - Friday, March 24 - 4:30 pm | Live Stats
Manhattan Jr. RHP Marc Galvan (1-1; 2.95 ERA; 21.1 IP; 15 K; 11 BB; .247 opp. BA)
Game 2 - Saturday, March 24 - 7:00 pm | Live Stats
Manhattan GS RHP Matt Simonetti (1-1; 6.64 ERA; 20.1 IP; 23 K; 9 BB; .275 opp. BA)
Game 3 - Sunday, March 25 - 4:00 pm | Live Stats
Manhattan Jr. RHP Joe DiNizio (0-2; 6.27 ERA; 18.2 IP; 15 K; 10 BB; .320 opp. BA )
WINNING IS FUN
The Jaspers have won 8-of-12 - including 4-of-5 - and three-straight weekend sets since starting 0-6. During that time, Manhattan is batting .295 with six different regulars hitting above .300. On the mound, Manhattan has pitched to a 4.07 ERA while limiting opposing hitters to a .232 average.
HOULIHAN PARK
For the second-straight season, Manhattan will open MAAC play at Houlihan Park and will be playing a league series at the field for the third time in four seasons.
DYK???
The Jaspers have won each of their two previous MAAC weekends at Houlihan Park, taking two-of-three against Niagara last year and two-of-three in 2015 against Fairfield.
BREAK OUT THE BROOMS
Manhattan swept the weekly MAAC awards with junior Richie Barrella (Player), sophomore RHP T.J. Stuart (Pitcher) and Will Trochiano (Rookie) taking home top honors.
- Barrella batted .571 (8-of-14) with a double, four runs, four walks, a HBP and two stolen bases while hitting safely in all four games en route to posting a .643 slugging percentage and a .684 OBP.
- Stuart notched saves in all three Manhattan wins last week, striking out four while yielding just one hit and one walk over 5.0 scoreless frames while limiting opposing hitters to a .063 average.
- Trochiano earned his second MAAC Rookie of the Week honor after hitting safely in all four games en route to batting .316 (6-of-19) with five runs, two doubles, two RBI and one stolen base.
MIDWEEK BLISS x2
For the second-straight week, Manhattan posted a solid win during midweek action, besting Stony Brook 12-3 thanks to scoring eight runs in the top of the ninth. Barrella, the reigning MAAC Player of the Week, went 3-for-6 with two RBI while senior Adam Genners was 3-for-4 with three RBI and two runs.
FROM THE PLATE
- Genners is hitting .538 (7-of-13) over his last four games with six runs, four walks and three RBI.
- Barrella checks in at .550 (11-of-20) during the same stanza with five RBI and four walks.
- Over the last eight games, graduate student Matt Forlow is hitting .452 (14-of-31) with 12 runs, eight odubles, a home run, 11 RBI and six walks en route to posting an .806 slugging percentage.
FROM THE MOUND
- Sophomore RHP Alexis Calderon has yielded just one hit over 4.0 innings with two strikeouts his three games.
- DiNizio struck out four while yielding just one run in 5.0 innings of work against Saint Joseph's.
- Sophomore LHP Joe Chionchio earned his first win with 2.0 innings of successful relief at Stony Brook.
LAST YEAR VS. SAINT PETER'S
Forlow hit .727 (8-of-11) with seven runs, a double, triple, home run and five RBI in leading Manhattan to a three-game sweep of Saint Peter's in the final weekend of the 2017 Regular Season as the Jaspers clinched a MAAC Playoff berth. Pena also had a big weekend, batting .692 with six doubles and five RBI while senior Brendan Bisset hit .462 with five RBI and four runs.
CAN'T STOP ME NOW! I'M HAVING A GOOD TIME
Trochiano has reached base safely in the first 18 games of his collegiate career, including hitting safely 16 times, and is batting .347 with 17 runs, six doubles, one home run, 11 RBI and eight multi-hit games while reaching base at a .440 clip.
STUART THE STOPPER
Stuart continues to dominate in his first year as the Jasper closer, going 1-0 with five saves, a 1.47 ERA and 15 strikeouts, against eight walks, over 18.1 innings while limiting opposing hitters to a scant .111 average.
PENA NAMED MAAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
- Junior Fabian Pena hit a blistering .438 (7-for-16) with two doubles, two home runs, seven runs, eight RBI and two walks over four games last week while slugging at a .938 clip en route to being named MAAC Player of the Week on March 13.
- After singling against Stony Brook, Pena went 3-for-4 in the opener at UNC Asheville with two home runs, five runs and five RBI while reaching base safely five times.
- Pena Capped the doubleheader sweep with two more hits, three RBI and a run in the nightcap.
- The Miami native put the finishing touches on his big performance with a double and a run in the finale.
PENA NAMED TO JOHNNY BENCH WATCH LIST
Pena has been named to the official watch list for the 2018 Johnny Bench Award presented by BaseballSavings.com as announced by the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission. On the year, Pena is hitting .286 with five doubles, three home runs and 20 RBI.
COLE COMES HOME
This year marks the beginning of the Mike Cole regime at Manhattan. Cole served as an assistant for the Jaspers from 2005-2008 and was most recently an assistant at Fairfield where he helped the Stags to back-to-back MAAC Regular Season Championships and the 2016 MAAC Title.
THE RETURNERS
The Jaspers return 25 letterwinners, including seven starting position players, for the second-straight season. Click HERE for the entire prospectus.
PENA GARNERS PRESEASON HONORS
Pena was tabbed as the top MAAC pro prospect by both Baseball America (BA) and D1Baseball.Com.
PENA PACES THE OFFENSE
One of the top players in the Northeast since he set foot on campus as a freshman, Pena has hit .333 (162-of-487) with 51 doubles, 15 home runs and 106 RBI while starting all 126 Manhattan games during his time in Riverdale.
JACQUES LAUDED
Senior LHP Joe Jacques was tabbed as the No. 10 prospect in the MAAC by BA and No. 11 by D1.Baseball.Com.
BISSET BREAKS OUT
The unquestioned breakout star of last season was Bisset. After missing the bulk of his sophomore year due to injury, Bisset hit a team-leading .335 with 11 doubles, one triple, one home run and 29 RBI.
TOP TWO IN 2019 ...
Stuart was lauded as the No. 5 pro prospect from the MAAC in 2019 while sophomore Nick Massa was tabbed as No. 9. Both players made an immediate impact as rookies a year ago and will figure prominently this season.
ROAD WARRIORS
Manhattan will play its first 33 games on the road after playing its first 17 away from home a year ago.
FROM THE BRONX TO THE PROS
Tom Cosgrove decided to forgo his final year of eligibility after being drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 12th round of the 2017 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft while Jose Carrera inked a professional deal with the New York Yankees. Additionally, signee Tai Tiedemann was selected by the Texas Rangers in the eighth round of the 2016 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
DUTCHESS STADIUM
Manhattan will call Duchess Stadium in Wappingers Falls, NY home for the fourth-straight season, playing 14 games there.
MAAC PRESEASON POLL
The Jaspers were tabbed to finish 10th out of 11 teams.
THE STAFF
Former Manhattan great and 2017 Athletic Hall of Famer Chris Cody and Vincent Redmond complete Cole's first staff.
MAAC MAGIC
The Jaspers will be attempting to qualify for their third-straight MAAC Tournament and the fourth in five years after earning the sixth spot on the final day of the 2017 season.
SUNDAYS ARE FOR THE JASPERS
Manhattan went 7-2 in MAAC action on Sundays a year ago.
SEE YOU IN STATEN ISLAND
The 2018 MAAC Baseball Championship will be held at Richmond County Bank Ballpark in Staten Island, NY from May 23-26. The 2019 and 2020 championships will also be held at the home of the Single-A Staten Island Yankees.
WHAT'S A JASPER?
The unique nickname of Manhattan College's athletic teams, the Jaspers, comes from one of the College's most memorable figures, Brother Jasper of Mary, F.S.C., who served as the College's athletic director in the late 19th century. One of the greatest achievements of Brother Jasper was that he brought the then little-known sport of baseball to Manhattan College and became the team's first coach. Since Brother Jasper was also the Prefect of Discipline, he supervised the student fans at Manhattan baseball games while also directing the team itself. During one particularly warm and humid day when the college was playing a semi-pro baseball team called the Metropolitans, Brother Jasper noticed the Manhattan students were becoming restless and edgy with the team coming to bat in the seventh inning of a close game. To relieve the tension, Brother Jasper called timeout and told the students to stand up and stretch for a few minutes until the game resumed. Since the College annually played the New York Giants in the late 1880's and into the 1890's at the old Polo Grounds, the Manhattan College practice of the "seventh inning stretch" spread into the major leagues, where it has now become a time-honored custom practiced by millions of fans annually.
UP NEXT
Manhattan will play at Columbia at Tuesday, March 27 at 3:00 pm.