Bronx, N.Y. (March 8, 2006)- In the first meeting of the year between the two Bronx rivals, Manhattan built a 10-1 lead before holding on to defeat Fordham, 10-7, at Houlihan Park on the Fordham campus.
Things started off well for the Jaspers, as
Eric Nieto was hit by a pitch to lead off the game. Nieto then stole second and third before coming home on a
Matt Rizzotti RBI sacrifice fly.
The Rams evened things at 1-1 in the third, before Manhattan scored three runs in the fifth to take the lead for good. The first two runs scored on passed balls, and
Nick Derba drove in the third with an RBI double to left center.
The Jaspers opened up a big lead with six more runs in the sixth.
Dom Lombardi plated the first run with an RBI single, and, after the bases became loaded, rookie
Ruben Perez scored two more with a double down the right field line. Later in the inning, Nieto earned an RBI with a bases loaded walk, Perez scored on a wild pitch, with the final run scoring on a Rizzotti double play groundout.
Things looked to be well in hand, but the Rams scored four times in the eighth and twice more in the ninth to make things interesting, but
Jeremy Shaw closed the door with a strikout to end the game.
Lombardi was the only Jaspers to post a multi-hit game, going 2-2 with two runs and an RBI.
Freshman
Mike Gazzola allowed just one run in his first collegiate start.
Kyle Wirtz (3.0 one-hit innings) took the win before
Rene Guerra (1.0 hitless innings in his collegiate debut) bridged the gap to Shaw.
Manhattan opens up a three game series at UMBC on Saturday, March 11, with a single game beginning at 3:00 p.m.
