NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. – Manhattan took game one of a key MAAC series on Friday at Niagara, 19-12. The Jaspers moved into a tie for sixth in the MAAC standings with the win with the Purple Eagles.
The top six teams will qualify for the MAAC Championship in two weeks.
Manhattan (21-24, 9-10 MAAC) scored in the third, fourth, and fifth innings before adding five in the seventh and seven in the ninth to get the win.
The Jaspers pounded out 16 hits, though only three hitters had multiple.
Dolan Ocasal and
Frankie Marinelli had four, and
David Bermudez had three. The trio drove in 11 of the 19 runs, with Bermudez supplying five.
Ocasal's first hit of the game was a solo home run in the top of the second to tie the score. Marinelli's first knock of the game gave the Jaspers a 4-3 lead in the fourth. Bermudez was 0-for-2 when he hit a two-run homer in the fifth to make it 7-4 Manhattan.
Ocasal's homer was his third of the season and Bermudez's was his 14
th of 2022.
In the five-run seventh, Bermudez drove in three with his second homer of the afternoon. Ocasal singled to make it 11-5, and a run was forced in when a pitch hit
Matt Padre.
Niagara (14-29, 9-10) cut it to 12-10 with runs in the seventh and eighth before Manhattan hung seven in the ninth.
Harrison Treble plated two with a single back through the box. Then
Zahan Meyer and Marinelli doubled to bring two each to conclude the scoring for the Jaspers.
Will Hesslink picked up the win for the Jaspers after going seven innings and recording five strikeouts.
For the Purple Eagles, Spencer Marcus had four RBI. Josh Marchese had three hits and scored three times for Niagara.
The two sides return to the diamond Saturday at 4 p.m. for game two of the series.
