Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - Melissa Donnelly (Long Beach, N.Y.) belted a two-run walk-off home run to left field in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Manhattan College softball team a 3-1 victory in the first game of a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) doubleheader with Niagara on Sunday morning. Donnelly then pitched the second game and was brilliant, but the Lady Jaspers' offense was unable to solve Cassie Stone, and the Purple Eagles (11-13, 4-2 MAAC) notched a 2-0 victory over Manhattan (14-16-1, 2-4 MAAC) to earn a split of the twinbill at Gaelic Park.
Game one had the makings of a pitchers' duel between the respective aces, Erika Sullivan (Bay Shore, N.Y.) and Julie DiMatteo. However, while Sullivan was moving right along, DiMatteo had problems from the get-go, walking one and hitting a batter in the first inning. The Lady Jaspers then got to DiMatteo in the bottom of the second. Melissa Cascio (Kings Park, N.Y.) started the rally with a single to center, then Manhattan loaded the bases on singles by Meghan McDevitt (Nutley, N.J.) and Sullivan. Kristina Walraven (Thompson Ridge, N.Y.) followed with a fly ball to left that was deep enough to score the run, but McDevitt was nailed trying to advance to third on the sacrifice fly, ending the inning.
The way Sullivan was pitching, it looked like that run might hold up, as she had a no-hitter going through 3.1 innings. However, Maggie McDonald came up with one out in the top of the fourth and belted a home run deep to left, ending the no-hitter and the shutout.
A fielding error and a bunt single gave the Purple Eagles runners on first and second with nobody out in the top of the seventh, but Sullivan got out of the jam with a grounder to third and a pair of fly outs to left. After Walraven grounded out to start the bottom of the seventh, Monica Evangelista (Cedar Grove, N.J.) put together a great at-bat in which she fouled off six pitches before reaching on an infield single. That set the stage for Donnelly's heroics, as she crushed one to left for her second career walk-off home run.
Manhattan had nine hits in game one, led by 2-for-3 efforts from Evangelista and McDevitt. McDevitt's two hits were the first of her collegiate career. Sullivan (10-4) tossed her team-leading ninth complete game of the season. She gave up just the one run on five hits, struck out one and walked one.
For Niagara, DiMatteo (6-3) was credited with 6.1 innings pitched. She surrendered three runs and nine hits while striking out six and walking one. The Purple Eagles' offense ended up with five hits, four singles and McDonald's home run.
The second game was another pitchers' duel, as Donnelly and Stone were simply brilliant. Niagara leadoff batter Kristin Kill singled to center to start the game, but she was ruled out because Niagara's lineup card had been filled out incorrectly. That out was the first of 11 straight for Donnelly to start the game. She lost the perfect game on a clean single by Teresa Healy with two out in the fourth. With two down in the top of the sixth, Donnelly walked Kill. McDonald followed with a single, then Healy delivered a double to left center that knocked in both base runners and gave the Purple Eagles a 2-0 lead.
Stone put at least one runner on in every inning except the fourth, and the Lady Jaspers rallied again in the bottom of the sixth. Walraven started the inning with a ground-rule double that bounced over the fence in right center. That would be the only ball Manhattan hit out of the infield in the inning, as Evangelista followed with a single to deep short. After Walraven was retired on a fielder's choice for the first out, Jaci Rahey (West Milford, N.J.) was robbed of an RBI when McDonald made a great play to keep her grounder in the infield. Rahey's single loaded the bases with one out, but Niagara got out of the inning unscathed when Stone induced a pair of ground balls.
After Donnelly retired the Purple Eagles in order in the top of the seventh, pinch hitter Amanda Berrios (Carteret, N.J.) got the bottom of the seventh started with another infield single. However, she would be stranded at second base, as the Lady Jaspers were unable to put together a rally, and Niagara held on for a 2-0 victory to earn a doubleheader split.
Manhattan had eight hits in game two, led by Walraven's 3-for-4 effort. However, the Lady Jaspers left seven runners on base in the contest. Donnelly (2-7) suffered the tough-luck loss after giving up two runs and three hits. She struck out five and walked only one in seven innings.
Healy had two of Niagara's three hits, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs. McDonald recorded the only other Purple Eagles hit and scored a run. Stone (5-7) scattered eight hits and struck out three in the shutout victory.
Sunday's games concluded a span where the Lady Jaspers played 10 out of 12 contests at home. Manhattan now hits the road for its next six games, starting with a 3 p.m. doubleheader at Fairleigh Dickinson (11-24) on Wednesday. The Lady Jaspers posted an 8-0 victory over the Knights at the Rebel Spring Games on March 19.
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