HACKENSACK, N.J. - Amanda Berrios (Carteret, N.J.) certainly picked a good time to hit her first career home run. After the Manhattan College softball team suffered a 4-3 loss on a walk-off two-run double in the first game of Wednesday's twinbill at Fairleigh Dickinson, Berrios smashed a two-run homer in the top of the eighth inning to give the Lady Jaspers (15-17-1) a 10-8 victory in the nightcap and a doubleheader split with the Knights (12-28) at FDU Softball Field.
In game two, Manhattan took a 3-0 lead with a three-spot in the top of the third. Monica Evangelista (Cedar Grove, N.J.), Melissa Donnelly (Long Beach, N.Y.) and Jaci Rahey (West Milford, N.J.) put together three successive RBI singles to spark the rally.
After Fairleigh Dickinson scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth, the Lady Jaspers used the long ball to push their lead to 8-2 in the top of the fifth. Donnelly and Rahey started the inning with back-to-back doubles, then Nicole Michel (Massapequa, N.Y.) crushed a three-run home run. Ashley Rampino (Manalapan, N.J.) was up next, and she followed with a shot of her own. The Rampino blast led to an FDU pitching change, as starter Kristen Shreve was relieved by game one starter Caitlin Bradac. The first batter Bradac faced was Kelly Murray (Leominster, Mass.), who made it back-to-back-to-back long balls for the Lady Jaspers. It marked the first time this season that Manhattan hit three consecutive home runs.
However, the Knights came all the way back with six runs in their half of the fifth. Mikayla Fernandez got the rally started with a two-run single, then Brianne Benedict's RBI single cut Manhattan's lead to 8-5. Alexandra Schubert was up next, and she delivered a three-run homer that tied the game at 8-8. That was it for the scoring until the top of the eighth, when Amanda Babcock (Haverstraw, N.Y.) was hit by a pitch leading off the inning. After a sacrifice bunt by Kristina Walraven (Thompson Ridge, N.Y.) moved the runner to second, Berrios uncorked her first career round-tripper to give the Lady Jaspers an 8-6 lead. Rampino then retired the Knights in order in the bottom of the eighth to seal the victory.
Nine different Lady Jaspers had a hit in game two, as Manhattan had 13 hits as a team. Michel led the way with a 3-for-5 effort, while Donnelly and Rahey both had two hits in the nightcap. Donnelly also scored a pair of runs. Michel had three RBIs in game two, and Berrios drove in a pair. Donnelly got the start in the circle and went the first 4.2 innings. She gave up eight runs on seven hits, struck out two and walked three. Rampino (3-5) earned the win after 3.1 innings of shutout relief. She surrendered just two hits and one walk while striking out three.
Fernandez, Benedict, Schubert and Lauren Hamilton each had two hits for the Knights in the second game. Schubert drove in four runs, while Hamilton had two RBIs and scored twice. Benedict also knocked in a pair. Shreve went the first four-plus innings in the circle, yielding seven runs on 11 hits, striking out three and walking one. After earning the win in game one, Bradac (9-8) took the loss in game two. She gave up three runs on two hits, struck out five and walked two in four innings of work.
Bradac's sacrifice fly in the first inning of game one gave FDU the early lead, but Manhattan tied it on Michel's solo home run in the top of the second. The Lady Jaspers took a 2-1 lead on Rahey's team-leading sixth homer of the season, a solo shot in the top of the fourth. The Knights evened the game on a perfectly executed squeeze play in the bottom half of the inning. However, Manhattan went back in front in the top of the sixth. Donnelly started the inning with a single to left, and she came around on Rahey's RBI single to right.
Benedict started FDU's game-winning seventh-inning rally with a leadoff single. After she was sacrificed over to second, pinch hitter Dana Walker smacked a single to left that moved the tying run to third with one out. Elizabeth Woidt followed with a double down the right field line that knocked in both runners and gave the Knights a 4-3 walk-off victory.
Rahey went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored in game one, while Erika Sullivan (Bay Shore, N.Y.) was 2-for-3 in the nine-spot. Sullivan (10-5) went the distance in the circle and suffered her first loss since April 10 (a span of five decisions). She tossed 6.1 innings, giving up four runs (three earned) and seven hits while striking out six and walking one.
Woidt and Fernandez both had a pair of hits in game one, as the Knights outhit the Lady Jaspers 7-6. Woidt went 2-for-2 with two RBIs in the nine-spot, while Fernandez was 2-for-3 with a run scored. Bradac surrendered three runs (two earned) on six hits, struck out nine and walked three to earn the win in the circle.
The Lady Jaspers resume Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) action this weekend, when they play a pair of road doubleheaders. Manhattan (2-4 MAAC) visits Siena (8-31, 1-5 MAAC) for a 1 p.m. twinbill on Saturday, then takes on Marist (4-27, 0-6 MAAC) in a doubleheader that gets underway at 12 p.m. on Sunday.
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