STARKVILLE, MS – The Manhattan Jaspers baseball team (0-2, 0-0 MAAC) dropped its two opening games to the #18 Mississippi State Diamond Dawgs (2-0, 0-0 SEC) by a score of 17-3 and 13-1 respectively inside Dudy Noble Field on Friday afternoon.
On Thursday, Mississippi State and Manhattan agreed to move Saturday's contest to a Friday doubleheader. Due to inclement weather arriving in the area on Saturday, the series will conclude on Sunday, February 16.
GAME 1
- Mississippi State struck first in the first inning with a pair of base hits to right field and never looked back.
- In the seventh inning, senior Tyler Galletti knocked a two-bagger down the first-base line to drive home right fielder Aidan Taclas and third baseman Trevor Hansen.
- During the ensuing plate appearance for left fielder Dylan Mayer, the sophomore logged a single into center to allow freshman Colin Basehore to cross the plate for its third run.
GAME 2
- In the second inning, following a Trevor Hansen double, Andreaus Lewis knocked a single through the right side and moved up to second on an error, where Hansen was able to cross the plate and tack on the first run for the Jaspers.
- Getting into a jam in the bottom of the fifth was Manhattan, but shutting the door was junior right-handed pitcher Trey Packen, who left Mississippi State with the bases loaded following his call from the bullpen.
STATS AND NOTES
- Graduate right-handed pitcher Joey Craska made his Jasper debut in relief, posted an inning of work, and logged one punchout in 38 pitches. Craska previously pitched for the Highlanders of NJIT.
- Redshirt freshman right-handed pitcher Andrew Brown logged four strikeouts in three innings of work and faced 15 batters.
- Senior right handed pitcher Brad Grasser logged 4.2 innings pitched, and struck out four batters with 26 batters faced in 90 total tosses.
QUOTES FROM THE JASPERS
Interim Head Coach Steven Rosen: "Never a good thing to come out on the losing side, but some positive takeaways from today's games that we can build on. Andrew Brown was tremendous in his first college outing. I thought Brad Grasser really competed and showed what he is about. Some really competitive at-bats throughout the day. We're excited for a great day of practice tomorrow."
NEXT UP:
Manhattan continues its 2025 campaign with the series finale against #18 Mississippi State Diamond Dawgs on Sunday, February 16, beginning at 2 p.m. ET. The contest can be viewed on SEC Network Plus with a paid subscription.
