Manhattan splits doubleheader with Rider but falls short of playoff spot

Manhattan needed one last jolt to keep their season alive and qualify for the fourth time in the
last six seasons. Much to their credit, the Jaspers had put themselves in the hunt with a torrid 8-
1 stretch starting with a 10-3 drubbing of Quinnipiac in the series finale on April 28. But in game
one versus Rider on Thursday, the Broncs landed the first punch with an 8-2 win, and then
ended the Jaspers hopes with a 10-3 win in game one of the double-header on Friday. 

Game 1
Chase Swain gave Manhattan a 2-0 lead in the first inning of game one on Friday to start off
their day with a bang. Rider quickly battled back, though, scoring three runs in the second and
another run in the fourth to go ahead 4-2. Three of those runs were driven in by Rider outfielder
Anthony Paskell to put the Broncs in the driver's seat in game one. 

With one out in the seventh, freshman slugger Dylan Mayer singled and the Jaspers continued
the rally when a pinch-hit opportunity for graduate student Jake Hatch led to a walk and two
runners on. Senior center fielder Frankie Marinelli knocked a base hit to score one and cut the
Rider lead to 4-3. However, Rider worked their way into bases loaded in the eighth, which was
followed by a walk by Jack Winsett and a grand slam blast from Brian Skettini to mushroom the
lead to 10-3 which remained unchanged the rest of the way.

Sophomore John Kwiatkowki started on the bump for Manhattan and gave up four runs on five
hits in five innings pitched. Right-handed relief pitcher Greg Shaw surfaced one last time in
2024 amid a breakthrough campaign for the sophomore, but this time gave up four runs in 2.2
innings of service. In his final appearance in his collegiate career, graduate student Jack
Mahoney allowed two runs in 1.1 innings of work. 

For the Broncs, Brian Young and Jake Dorety teamed up and held Manhattan to only three runs
on eight hits to go along with 10 strikeouts.

Game 2

With Manhattan's postseason hopes officially kaput, the Jaspers focused on the task at hand
and walloped Rider 12-6 in game two on Friday. The Jaspers' offense piled up 12 hits and
worked nine walks to thwart the Broncs' momentum. Simply nothing was going to stand in
Manhattan's way even after Rider opened the festivities with two runs in the first inning as they
eyed the sweep. In the bottom of the first, Drew Wyers swatted a two-run home run for his
eighth home run of the season and second of the series after going deep in the series opening
loss. 

After falling behind 3-2, Manhattan tied the game at 3 and then went up 6-3 with the help of a
two-run double from Wyers. 

In total, Manhattan drilled four home runs, including Wyers' blast, a pair of home runs from
junior catcher Andreaus Lewis, and solo shot from sophomore Daniel Perez. Manhattan added
three more extra base hits to contribute to the onslaught. 

Senior Connor O'Neill toed the rubber for Manhattan and held Rider to three runs over 5.1
innings of work. Freshman left-handed reliever Michael Staiano did the rest of the work by
supplying 3.2 innings of two-run ball while adding four strikeouts. 

Upon securing the final out, Manhattan closed their 2024 season 10-14 in MAAC play and 22-30
overall. Head coach David Miller concludes his second season in Riverdale inspired by the
strong brand of baseball the Jaspers played over the final weeks of the season, as well as the
potential of his young core of players. The veteran coach also reached the 150-win plateau in
career victories when Manhattan downed Albany 7-3 on May 11. Having coached at La Salle
and Penn State, Abington before arriving at Manhattan, Miller now stands at 153 victories ahead
of the 2025 season. 

"I am proud of this group of men," Miller said. "Despite the ups and downs, they continued to
battle and won 10 of their final 13 games. Even though we didn't get into the MAAC
Tournament, we have a lot to be proud of and hopeful for in the future."