SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - On Saturday morning, the Manhattan College softball team concluded round robin play at Seton Hall's Strike Out Cancer Tournament with a 13-2 loss to Texas Tech at Ivy Hill Park. The Jaspers (1-13) then drew Texas Tech (25-7) again in the semifinals, when the Red Raiders notched a 7-2 victory.
After the Red Raiders got on the board in the top of the first in game one, Manhattan responded with a run of its own in the bottom half of the inning. Amanda Babcock (Haverstraw, N.Y.) started the rally with a one-out single to left, and she came across on an RBI single by Amanda Paxson (Cedar Grove, N.J.). However, Texas Tech broke the game open in the top of the second, scoring eight runs on eight hits. The Red Raiders added two in the fourth and two more in the fifth.
Jen Keller (Woodridge, N.J.) led off the bottom of the fifth with a double to center and Heather Leone (Brick, N.J.) followed with an infield single. Keller then scored on Anna Gallacher's (New Fairfield, Conn.) RBI groundout. The Jaspers put runners on first and second when Kate Bowen (Newtown, Conn.) was hit by a pitch, but the rally stalled on a strikeout and a groundout, giving the Red Raiders a 13-2 victory.
Paxson went 2-for-2 with an RBI in game one, while Babcock was 1-for-3 with a run scored and Keller had a hit in her only official at-bat to go along with a run. Mickayla Romero (Las Vegas, Nev.) made her first career start in the circle and took the loss. Romero (0-2) surrendered the first seven Texas Tech runs and seven hits in 1.2 innings. Bowen allowed four runs (two earned) and seven hits while striking out two and walking one in two innings of work, and Kelsi Redding (Tucson, Ariz.) finished up, yielding two runs and a hit over the final 1.1 innings.
Texas Tech's Emily Bledsoe had two doubles in the game. She ended up 3-for-4 with a run scored and two RBIs. Logan Hall was 2-for-3 with three runs scored, while Raven Richardson went 2-for-2 and scored twice. Richardson and Adriana Perez belted home runs for the Red Raiders. Mikey Kenney also scored a pair of runs. Kelsey Dennis (2-0) went three innings in the circle, giving up one run on three hits, striking out one and walking one. Chandler Moore worked the final two innings, allowing one run on three hits while striking out two.
For the afternoon games, the four teams were seeded 1-4 based on their tournament record. Texas Tech earned the No. 1 seed with a 3-0 mark in the event. The Jaspers were seeded fourth, meaning they'd face the Red Raiders again in the semifinals.
Perez and Richardson both had RBI hits for the Red Raiders in the first inning of game two, and Bledsoe drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second.
Trailing 3-0, the Jaspers rallied for a run in the top of the third. Bowen singled through the right side to get the inning started, then Amanda Berrios (Carteret, N.J.) dropped down a bunt single. The runners moved to second on third on Babcock's sacrifice bunt, then Manhattan got on the board when Meghan McDevitt (Nutley, N.J.) reached on an error. However, Texas Tech got that run right back in the bottom of the third, then added another in the fourth.
The Jaspers trimmed their deficit to 5-2 with a tally in the top of the sixth. Keller walked leading off the inning, and she moved all the way to third on a throwing error. After Sydney Weedon (Santa Ana, Calif.) dropped down a bunt to put runners on second and third, Keller scored on Jocelin Whitmore's (La Habra, Calif.) groundout. Bowen flied out to end the inning. Texas Tech tacked on a pair in the bottom of the sixth, and the Jaspers were unable to rally against Kermitra Ward in the seventh.
Manhattan managed just four hits in game two, a pair of which were by Bowen. Berrios went 1-for-3 with a run scored, while Babcock had a single. Redding (0-6) went the first 5.1 innings before being relieved by Romero. She allowed seven runs (four earned) on eight hits and struck out two. Romero retired both batters she faced.
For the Red Raiders, Kenney was 2-for-3 with a run scored, while Melisa Ryba went 2-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI. Sandy James scored twice, and Taylor Powell had a pair of RBIs. Ashley Brokeshoulder (1-0) got the start in the circle and went the first five innings. She surrendered an unearned run on four hits, struck out four and walked two. Chandler Moore gave up a walk and an unearned tally in the sixth, and Ward recorded a strikeout in a hitless seventh.
With the loss, Manhattan dropped into the consolation game. The Jaspers will face Monmouth (6-6) at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday. The Hawks defeated the Jaspers 8-0 in each team's first game of the tournament.
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