Jaspers Race Past Fairfield - Manhattan University Athletics

RIVERDALE, N.Y. ? Manhattan used a walk off RBI single from Ruben Perez to edge Fairfield (15-17, 5-6 MAAC) 7-6 in game one, and then cruised to a 15-3 triumph in game two to sweep the MAAC baseball doubleheader on Saturday at Van Cortlandt Park. With the pair of victories Manhattan (23-10, 10-1 MAAC) improves to a perfect 9-0 in Riverdale this season and extends its consecutive home winning streak to 19 games.

The Jaspers carried a 6-1 advantage into the ninth inning of game one, before the Stags staged a five-run game tying rally. Despite working a near perfect eighth, Manhattan junior reliever Tom Moran ran into trouble in the final frame. Fairfield worked six hits off Moran, including a two-RBI double from right fielder Jason Rago, a two-RBI single from third baseman David Dudish, and the equalizing RBI single off the bat of catcher Chris Horning.

Manhattan's bats quickly got to work in the bottom half of the inning as the squad mounted its bid for the victory. Sophomore left fielder Mark Onorati got the ball rolling with a lead off single, and then moved into scoring position courtesy of a sacrifice bunt from Kevin Nieto.

The Stags intentionally walked Chad Salem, and then were forced to also walk Anthony Armenio to strategically load the bases because of a balk by senior relief pitcher Dan Gallagher. With one out and the game winning run 90 feet away, Perez stepped to the plate and shined in the spotlight sending blooper into shallow right field.

Perez led Manhattan with a 3-for-5 performance from the plate, scored two runs and drove in two RBIs.

Jaspers starting pitcher Mike Gazzola rolled through five and two third innings. He recorded five strikeouts, allowed just four hits and yielded one earned run.

Manhattan earned a 3-0 advantage beginning with Perez's RBI single in the second inning, and then back-to-back RBI hits from Austin Sheffield and Jamie Fitzgerald with two outs in the fourth inning. Sheffield and Perez each had two hits in the ballgame.

Fairfield countered in the sixth by working Gazzola to walk in its first run, which pushed the Jaspers to make a call to the bullpen for Tom Costigan. The move paid dividends as the right hander struck out freshman Mark Skrapits with two outs and the bases loaded to get out of the jam. Costigan pitched a hit less one and one third innings.

In the bottom of the sixth, Sheffield extended Manhattan's lead to 4-1 when he connected on his second hit and RBI of the game. The Jaspers tagged on two more runs in the seventh on two errors and a RBI double from Armenio to build a 6-1 cushion.

Moran was credit with the win and improved to 4-1 this season. Stags' reliever Rick Piccirillo received the loss and drops to 1-1. Fairfield starting pitcher Rob Gariano tossed six innings and allowed 10 hits, four earned runs, while tallying four strikeouts.

In game two, the Jaspers erupted for 18 hits en route to their ninth conference victory. Nieto delivered a 4-for-5 hitting performance, including his 11^th double and team leading 11^th home run of the year. It was his fifth four-hit game of the season. The co-captain from Miami also belted in a career-high six RBI.

Freshman starting pitcher Mike Giordano registered his sixth straight victory. Giordano contributed six strong innings of work on the hill, limiting the Stags to just two earned runs and two walks. The right-hander from Bedford, N.Y. remains undefeated as a starter and boasts a team-best 3.82 ERA.

Sophomore second baseman Tucker Nathans put Fairfield on the scoreboard first with a solo home run in the opening frame. The Jaspers retaliated with two runs in both the first and second innings to gain a 4-1 lead. Nieto was responsible for Manhattan's first four RBI.

Rago added another solo home run to the Stags' scoring line in the fifth inning to pull within 4-2, but Manhattan poured in 11 runs over the next two innings to blow open the contest. The surge was pieced together by 12 hits, which featured senior shortstop Ryan Masters' 100^th hit of his collegiate career, a RBI double in the sixth.

Jaspers sophomore Mike McCann finished the ballgame 2-for-3 with three RBI and Onorati was 2-for-4 with two RBI. Both outfielders scored three runs in the rout. Salem hit his sixth home run of the season and was 3-for-4 with two RBI. Sheffield, Perez and Armenio also tallied multi-hit games.

The Jaspers and Stags meet for game three of the series on Sunday at Van Cortlandt Park. First pitch is scheduled for noon.