Buffalo, N.Y. (May 19, 2006)- Manhattan scored at least one run in the final eight innings to post a 24-13 win over Canisius this afternoon at the Demske Sports Complex on the Canisius campus. With the win, the Jaspers qualify for the MAAC Tournament for the fourth straight season, and will be the #2 seed if Le Moyne defeats Rider in the third game of their series or if the rain gets rained out. Otherwise Manhattan will be the #3 seed. The Jaspers up their record to 29-21, and complete MAAC play with a 17-9 record, the most conference wins in program history. The 29 wins are the third best in program history.
After a scoreless first inning,
Dom Lombardi brought home the first run of the game with an RBI double that scored
John Fitzpatrick in the top of the second.
Rene Ruiz would drive in Lombardi with an RBI single before
Ryan Marcoux scored on a throwing error to put the Jaspers up 3-0.
Canisius would respond with four runs if its own in the bottom of the frame, with the big hit being a two-run homer.
Manhattan would score two in the third and one in the fourth, with Lombardi's second double of the day driving in two in the third.
The Jaspers would open up a 14-4 lead with a seven run fifth, which began with a two-run homer from Fitzpatrick, his MAAC and team leading 15th of the season.
After the Griffs plated two in the bottom of the fifth, the two teams would continue the slugfest, with Canisius scoring seven runs in the final three innings, while Manhattan would tally 10 runs, with a two-RBI double by Lombardi (his fourth two-bagger of the day) and a two-RBI single by Fitzpatrick being the big hits.
Fitzpatrick ended the day 2-5 with four RBI to raise his season total to a school record 61. He also extended his hitting streak to 12 games, his RBI streak to 11 games, and connected on his 10th home run in his last 11 games. The senior is batting .532 during the streak, with 37 RBI, raising his batting average 78 points. He tallied 13 RBI in each of the last two MAAC series.
Matt Rizzotti went 6-7 on the day with five runs scored and one homer, while Lombardi went 5-6 with five RBI.
Matt Nevins picked up the win, working the final five innings while striking out six.
Manhattan will next be in action in an opening round game of the MAAC Championships, to be played Thursday through Saturday, May 25-27 at Dutchess County Stadium in Fishkill, N.Y.
