Manhattan Opens MAAC Tournament Play Today At 3 PM

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Staten Island, NY - No. 5 Manhattan (24-31) opens up play in the 2019 MAAC Championship against No. 4 Marist (27-24) on Wednesday, March 22 at Richmond County Bank Ballpark with first pitch tabbed for 3:00 pm. 
 

See You In Staten Island
* The 2019 MAAC Baseball Championship will be held at Richmond County Bank Ballpark in Staten Island, NY for the second-straight year at the home of the Single-A Staten Island Yankees.
* Manhattan will be hosting a pregame gathering at the Flagship Brewery from 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm.
* Light food will be provided at the brewery, which is located on 40 Minthorne Street, just 0.7 miles from the ballpark, and will serve as an unofficial meet-up for #JasperNation.
* For future fan events, please check back at www.gojaspers.com/maacbaseball2019.

Projected Starters
Game 1 - Manhattan GS LHP John Cain (8-4; 4.30 ERA; 90.0 IP; 87 K; 34 BB; .283 opp. BA) | Video
Game 2 - Manhattan Jr. RHP T.J. Stuart (7-5; 4.32 ERA; 77.0 IP; 77 K; 33 BB; .242 opp. BA)

Cimillo Named MAAC Rookie Of The Year
* Freshman Nick Cimillo was named a unanimous selection for MAAC Rookie of the Year, as announced at the league's postseason award banquet at Richmond County Bank Ballpark.
* Cimillo becomes the sixth MAAC Rookie of the Year from Manhattan after a dominating rookie season that saw the Airmont, NY native rank third in the MAAC with a .345 average with 71 hits (2nd MAAC), a .413 OBP (7th MAAC) and six home runs (8th MAAC).
* During MAAC play, he batted a league-leading .405 while hitting safely in 18-of-24 league games and registered a team-best 26 multi-hit performances and a 15-game hitting streak.

Six Earn MAAC Honors
* Cimillo was one of six Jaspers to be tabbed to the All-MAAC and MAAC Rookie Teams at the award banquet.
* Sophomore Matt Padre joined Cimillo on the First Team, while Stuart and sophomore Jake Knop were tabbed to the All-MAAC Second Team.
* Rounding out the honorees on the MAAC All-Rookie Team were Jonathan Barditch, Cimillo and Sam Franco.
* The seven Manhattan accolades match Fairfield for the most in the league.

Manhattan MAAC Tournament History:
* Appearances: 13
* Last Appearance: 2017 | Finish: 6th (0-2) – Lost to Iona and Rider
* All-Time Record: 19-21
* Last Title: 2012
* All-Time Finishes: 1st ('12, '11, '06) | 2nd ('07, '04) | 3rd ('10, '09, '03) | 4th ('16, '08, '05) | 6th ('14, '17)
* Record As Seed: No. 1 (8-3) | No. 2 (3-4) | No. 3 (2-4) | No. 4 (4-6) | No. 5 (0-2) | No. 6 (2-4) 
* Tourney Records Against The Field: 
Canisius (3-4) | QU (N/A) | Fairfield (1-2) | Marist (3-2) | Monmouth (2-1)
* Head Coach Mike Cole's Career Records Against The Field:
Canisius (3-3) | Quinnipiac (0-3) | Fairfield (2-2) | Marist (2-4) | Monmouth (2-4)

27 Facts About The Active Roster:
Pitchers:
1. Graduate Student LHP John Cain – Graduate transfer (Lafayette) leads the team in wins (8), innings (90) and strikeouts (87) and was a two-time MAAC Pitcher of the Week
2. Senior RHP T.J. Stuart – Collected seven wins with a NCAA-best seven complete games and 77 strikeouts over 77.0 innings, while limiting opposing hitters to a scant .242 average.
3. Senior RHP Ryan Takacs – Number three starter this year, earning his first career win vs. Iona.
4. Senior RHP Joe DiTorrice – Team's top option out of the bullpen, registering three wins, a 3.72 ERA and two saves over 48.1 innings while limiting opposing hitters to a .232 average.
5. Sophomore RHP Nick Massa – Has made eight appearances after returning from injury in posting a 4.05 ERA with 10 strikeouts over 13.1 innings.
6. Senior RHP Jacob Knight – Picked up wins over Siena, Stony Brook and FDU while striking out 26 over 25.0 innings.
7. Sophomore RHP Teddy Sabato – Has seen action in a team-high 19 games, while not yielding an earned run in 14 outings.
8. Senior RHP Anthony Fanelli – Registered 22 strikeouts in 22.2 innings.
9. Senior RHP Matt Jones – Limiting opposing hitters to a .156 average with a 3.72 ERA.
10. Freshman RHP Carson Coon – Struck out four in 2.1 innings off one-hit relief the last time out at Quinnipiac.
11. Junior RHP Alexis Calderon – Has pitched in 10 games out of the bullpen.
12. Junior RHP Jose De La Cruz – Registered seven strikeouts over 6.2 innings.
13. Senior RHP Marc Galvan – In win over LIU Brooklyn, struck out six over while yielding just one unearned run over 5.0 innings.

Position Players:
14. Freshman Nick Cimillo – Leads the team in batting (.345), home runs (6), slugging (.485), OBP (.413) and multi-hit games (26) with a team-best 15 game hitting streak.
15. Freshman Sam Franco – Two-time MAAC Rookie of the Week that is hitting .304, including .330 during league play, with eight doubles, four home runs, 28 RBI and a team-high 12 stolen bases.
16. Graduate student Shawn Blake – Has smoked a MAAC-best 19 doubles with four home runs, 28 RBI, a team-high 34 walks and a .285 average.
17. Sophomore Matt Padre – Has notched multiple-hits in eight of his last 10 games en route to batting .282, including .390 during league play, with 11 doubles, four home runs and 31 RBI.
18. Sophomore Jake Knop – Hitting .281, including .329 during MAAC play, with 10 extra-base hits  and 18 RBI while making just two errors at second base.
19. Junior Alex Cerda – Hitting .275 with 14 doubles, two home runs and a team-leading 32 RBI with eight multi-RBI games.
20. Freshman Jonathan Barditch – Has reached base safely in 31 of his last 32 games, including 26-straight at one point and all but one MAAC game, en route to hitting .271, including .365 during MAAC play.
21. Freshman David Moffett – Is hitting .266 with six doubles, two home runs and 14 RBI while splitting time at DH.
22. Junior Dominic Palma – Batting .242 with six doubles, two home runs and 11 RBI while splitting time at DH.
23. Graduate student Cam Crabbe – During MAAC play is hitting a blistering .440 with 11 runs, four doubles and seven RBI.
24 .Freshman Keury Abreu – Hitting .243 with 18 RBI, 11 runs, 15 walks and three stolen bases.
25. Sophomore Santiago Riera – Hit his first career home run in win at Stetson.
26. Sophomore Matt Fahey – Was 3-for-6 with two RBI in doubleheader sweep of UAlbany
27. Freshman Jacob Radziewicz – Collected his first career hit against Hofstra.

Strong Tradition
* The Jaspers have now qualified for 14 of the last 17 MAAC Tournaments beginning with the 2003 season. Prior to 2003, the Riverdale-based school had never played for the MAAC title.

DYK?
* Just eight Manhattan student-athletes (Calderon, Cerda, Fanelli, Jones, Massa, Palma, Stuart, Takacs) were on the active roster the last time the Jaspers qualified for the MAAC Championship in 2017 and none of the eight saw game action.

Not His First Rodeo
* Cole will be making his first appearance at the MAAC Tournament since his return to Riverdale a year ago, but he also served as a member of the Jaspers' coaching staff that won the 2006 MAAC Championship and was a member of the Fairfield staff that captured the 2016 crown.

Clinched
* The Jaspers clinched their first MAAC Tournament berth since the 2017 season with a three-game sweep of Saint Peter's.
 
This Year Against Marist ...
* The Jaspers batted a blistering .361 with seven doubles, two triples and a .449 OBP.
* Blake hit .545 (6-for-11) with five runs, two doubles, one triple and four RBI while Barditch also hit .545 (6-for-11) with a .615 OBP.
* Cimillo batted .500 (7-for-14) while Cerda posted a .455 (5-for-11) average with Knop checking in at .417 (5-for-12).
* Cain struck out six over 8.0 innings of three-run ball in earning the win in the opener.
* Takacs yielded just one earned run with six strikeouts and a 1.80 ERA over 5.0 innings.

The Best Around
* During MAAC play, Manhattan posted a league-leading .316 batting average. 

The 36-Hour Game
* The Jaspers' series finale against SPU was suspended at 10:47 am on Sunday, May 12. Exactly 36 hours later at 10:47 pm on Monday, May 13, Manhattan completed its third MAAC series sweep with a 15-2 victory.

Padre, Franco Earn MAAC Weekly Honors
MAAC Player of the Week: Matt Padre
 * Hit a blistering .769 (10-for-13) last week, including .889 (8-for-9) in the series sweep of Saint Peter's, with three doubles, two home runs, eight runs and nine RBI. Additionally, the Garden State native posted a 1.489 slugging percentage and a .789 OBP, and began the week by doubling, homering and driving in three RBI in win at FDU. In the Jaspers' doubleheader sweep of Saint Peter's, Padre went 6-for-7 with two doubles, four runs, two RBI and two walks. He then capped his big week by going 2-for-2 with a home run and four RBI while scoring three times in the series finale against the Peacocks.

MAAC Rookie of the Week: Sam Franco
 * Hit .600 (6-for-10) in the series sweep of Saint Peter's with two doubles, two home runs, eight runs, five RBI and four stolen bases in earning his second MAAC Rookie of the Week citation. He also walked four times in posting a .688 OBP with a 1.400 slugging percentage. Franco opened the series with a solo home run, before walking twice and stealing a base. The Jaspers' center fielder then went 3-for-4 with three runs, two doubles, a RBI and a stolen base in cementing the doubleheader sweep over the Peacocks. Franco then delivered his second leadoff home run of the series while setting the tone for Manhattan's 15-2 win in the finale, and finished up 2-for-2 with four runs, three RBI, two walks and two steals.

Dynamic Duo
* Cain and Stuart have combined for 15 wins, including 11 during MAAC play. 

SPU Series Notes
* Padre and Franco combined to hit .737 (14-for-19) with 15 runs, four doubles, three home runs, 11 RBI, seven walks, four stolen bases and were plunked three times.
* The Jaspers plated a season-high 15 runs in the opener and the finale, both of which coincided with Franco leadoff homers.
* Barditch hit the biggest home run of the weekend, a two-run shot in the sixth inning of game two that tied the score.

Padre, Palma Voted To Google Cloud Academic All-District Team
* Palma and Padre were named to the 2019 Google Cloud Academic All-District® Baseball Team.
* Palma holds a 3.62 GPA in exercise science while Padre has a 3.87 GPA in accounting.

Rider Series Notes
* Manhattan posted its fifth doubleheader sweep of the year at Rider.
* Cain yielded just three earned runs over 8.0 solid frames while Stuart fanned five over 7.0 innings in a complete-game effort.
* In large part to the duo, the Jaspers posted a 2.62 ERA on the weekend.
* Crabbe hit safely in all three games, en route to batting .571 (4-for-7) with four runs, four walks, a double and a RBI.
* Barditch and Knop each went yard for the first time in their careers while Padre also went deep.
 
MAAC Notes
* In game ones, Manhattan is an impressive 6-2 while outscoring the opposition by a 62-39 count.
* In game twos, the Jaspers are 5-3 while limiting the opposition to just 28 runs.
* The Green & White went 8-5 in games decided by three runs or less.
* Manhattan has won five MAAC weekends, including posting five doubleheader sweeps.

Midweek Fun
* The Jaspers blasted four home runs en route to registering a dominating 12-2 win over FDU.
* Blake, Crabbe, Moffett and Padre each hit home runs to highlight a 15-hit attack.
* Blake and Knop each added two doubles.
* Knight struck out eight over 6.0 innings of one-run ball.

Two In A Row
* Knight won the last two Manhattan midweek games, going 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA and 14 strikeouts while yielding just seven hits over 12.0 innings.

In The Rankings
* Stuart leads the nation with seven complete games.
* Cain paces the MAAC and ranks 33rd nationally with eight wins while Stuart is second in the league and 78th nationally with seven victories.
* Blake is 34th nationally with a MAAC-leading 19 doubles.

Homer Happy
* 12 different Jaspers have combined to hit 31 home runs.

Monmouth Series Notes
* The Jaspers took two-of-three from the Hawks in winning their third MAAC series of the year.
* Cimillo continued his torrid play, going 7-for-11 (.636) with three multi-hit performances, six RBI and two runs.
* Barditch was 5-for-11 (.455) with four runs and a double.
* Cain struck out a career-high 12 over 6.0 innings of one-run ball on the bump in the opener.
* Stuart fired his fifth complete game in game two, fanning six over 7.0 innings of two-run ball.
* The bullpen posted a 1.22 ERA with six strikeouts while yielding just five hits over 7.1 frames.

Complete Game TJ
* Stuart has fired complete games in seven of his last nine games.
* During that time, the Nutmeg State native is 6-3 with a 3.86 ERA and 54 strikeouts, against 21 walks, over 56.0 innings while limiting opposing hitters to a .224 average.
* Stuart is just two complete games behind assistant coach Chris Cody's single-season record of nine.

DYK???
* Cain has a MAAC-leading eight victories after registering just two over three seasons at Lafayette.

Break Out The Brooms
* Manhattan collected its second-straight sweep against Siena, thanks to hitting .326 as a team while posting a solid 3.96 ERA.

Manhattan Sweeps Iona
* Manhattan swept a three-game series from Iona, thanks to hitting .326 with six doubles and two home runs while posting a .398 OBP.
* The Jasper pitching unit posted a 1.44 ERA with 16 strikeouts while limiting Gael hitters to a .211 average. 
* Takacs picked up his first career win in the finale, striking out two over 5.0 inning.
* DiTorrice and  Sabato collected their first career saves.

Franco Named MAAC Rookie Of The Week
* Franco was named the MAAC Rookie of the Week on April 2 for his performance over games at LIU Brooklyn, Columbia and Canisius.
* He hit a team-leading .350 (7-for-20) over five games, including posting a .462 ledger at Canisius, with a double, triple, six RBI and two walks.
* Against Columbia, Franco had a single, RBI and two walks, before going 3-for-5 with a double, run and RBI in the opener against the Golden Griffins.
* In game one at Canisius, Franco singled and drove in one of the two Manhattan runs. He then capped his big week by going 2-for-4 with a game-tying, three-run triple in the finale.

Manhattan Rallies For 3-2 Win At George Mason
* The Jaspers took the series finale against the Patriots thanks to Padre's game-winning, two-run single in the ninth inning.
* DiTorrice picked up his second career win with 3.0 perfect innings of work, fueled by four strikeouts.

Cimillo Named MAAC Player & Rookie Of The Week
* Cimillo hit safely in all three games at GW, while batting a blistering .636 (7-of-11) with a double, home run, four runs and three RBI en route to being named MAAC Player and Rookie of the Week.
* The Long Island native also drew four walks in posting a .733 OBP with a 1.000 slugging percentage.
* In the opener, Cimillo reached base safely in all five of his trips to the plate, finishing up 4-for-4 with a double, walk, run and a RBI. He then crushed a solo home run with a walk in game two, before going 2-for-4 with two walks, two runs and a RBI in the finale.

Cain Named MAAC Pitcher Of The Week ... Again
* For the second time in as many weeks, Cain was slated as the MAAC Pitcher of the Week, after leading Manhattan to a 5-4 win over Appalachian State.
* Cain collected his second win of the year, striking out eight while yielding just one unearned run on four hits and three walks over 6.2 innings.
* The Lafayette transfer struck out at least one batter in six innings and set down 10 in a row at one point.

Cain Collects First MAAC Pitcher Of The Week Honor 
* Cain made his Jasper debut one to remember as he was named the MAAC Pitcher of the Week following his dominating season-opening performance in Manhattan's 5-2 win at Stetson.
* Cain struck out eight on 98 pitches over 7.0 innings of one-run ball. The Lafayette transfer also scattered just two hits and three walks against a Hatter team that was returning eight of its top 10 hitters from last year's Super Regional team.
* The 6-10 Cain got stronger as the game went on, retiring the final eight batters he faced, and limited Stetson to a miniscule .091 average on the day.

Barrella Earns Preseason All-MAAC Honors
* Barrella was named to the Preseason All-MAAC team as a utility player while Manhattan was slated to finish fifth and return to the MAAC Championship.
* A year ago, Barrella hit a team-leading .309 a year ago with a team-high 59 hits, 21 runs and 25 runs en route to earning All-MAAC Second Team honors. He also registered a team-best 16 multi-hit games with a 17-game hitting streak and twice earned MAAC Player of the Week honors. 

Stuart Named Collegiate Baseball Preseason All-American
* Stuart was slated as 2019 Collegiate Baseball Preseason All-American Third Team, powered by Diamond Sports.
 
* As a sophomore in 2018, Stuart established himself as one of the top pitchers in the MAAC in going 6-2 with a school-record and league-leading 10 saves while also pacing the circuit with 2.57 ERA and 50 strikeouts over 63.0 innings. 
* He is also the first Jasper to earn Collegiate Baseball All-American honors since Fabian Pena and Christian Santisteban each did so in 2016.

Stuart Garners Inclusion On NCBWA Initial Stopper List
* Stuart was also was one of the 75 players to be named to the initial Watch List for the 15th annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Stopper of the Year Award, given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I Baseball.
 
* Stuart was also tabbed by Perfect Game as the No. 5 pro prospect for the 2019 MLB First-Year Player Draft and as a preseason All-MAAC selection by the online publication.
* The Nutmeg State standout also limited opposing hitters to a MAAC-low .178 average as Manhattan went 18-7 in his outings, including winning 14-straight at one point.

Trio Earns Perfect Game/D1Baseball.Com Accolades
* Stuart and Padre were slated by Perfect Game as preseason All-MAAC selections with Cain tabbed as the No. 8 pro prospect in the MAAC for the 2019 MLB First-Year Player Draft by D1 Baseball.
 

From The Bronx To The Pros
* Fabian Pena (25th Round - San Franciso Giants) and Joe Jacques (34th Round - Pittsburgh Pirates) were each selected in the 2018 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft as the Jaspers have now had five players/signees ink contracts with MLB teams since 2016.
* Tom Cosgrove was taken 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.

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
* With a win, the Jaspers would either play at 7:00 pm tonight or 11:00 am on Thursday, May 23.
* With a loss, Manhattan would play at 3:00 pm on Thursday, May 23.