Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. ? The Manhattan College baseball team battled back from a nine run deficit to earn its sixth straight victory defeating Army (13-14) 13-11 on Wednesday at West Point. Sophomore right fielder Mike McCann belted two home runs, delivered three RBI and kept his 19 game hit streak alive. Austin Sheffield also added three RBI and launched his fourth homer of the season to contribute to the Jaspers comeback rally.
“It was a nice win for us today. Our guys keep battling and never quit,” stated Jaspers' fourth year head coach Kevin Leighton. “The offense stepped up for us again. The guys made big plays when we needed to.”
Manhattan's comeback bid featured a five run eighth inning which gave the Jaspers their first lead of the ballgame. Junior center fielder Kevin Nieto was clutch as he posted his fourth hit of the contest with two outs. Nieto delivered a triple, his third of the season and 13th of his career, which sent Mark Onorati in to tie the game at 11-11.
After intentionally walking McCann, sophomore Chad Salem came to the plate and jumped on a pitch that he blasted down the left field line to push the go ahead and eventual game winning run across the plate. The hit was a double and marked Salem's eighth of the 2009 campaign.
Will DeRuve knocked in an insurance run in the ninth, while Jaspers' junior reliever Tom Moran was nearly flawless as he recorded the final six outs to earn his fourth save of the season.
Army rolled out to a 10-1 advantage by the end of the fourth inning, a surge which was anchored by right fielder Ben Koenigsfeld. Koenigsfeld contributed five RBI, including a three run homer in the fourth.
The Jaspers cut into the deficit by scoring six unanswered runs over the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. McCann led off the fifth with a solo home run, and then junior catcher Jamie Fitzgerald added a RBI single. Salem and Ruben Perez each tallied RBI singles in the sixth, before McCann sent a two run shot deep over the right field fence to bring Manhattan within 10-7.
McCann went 4-for-5 in the ballgame and scored three runs. Perez was 3-for-5 with two runs.
Manhattan's pitching settled during this stretch as freshman Rob LaColla allowed just one hit and struck out two batters as he worked through the fifth and sixth innings. Mike Tibbetts was efficient in the seventh and was credit with his second win of the season.
Sheffield's three run blast out of left field jump started the Jaspers eighth inning rally and propelled the team to its 11th road win of the year. The sophomore from Augusta, Ga. hit 3-for-5 and scored two runs.
Manhattan resumes its non-conference action on Friday in Burlington, Vt. as the squad squares off with Vermont and New Jersey Institute of Technology.
