Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
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HACKENSACK, N.J. - On Wednesday, the Manhattan College softball team hit the road for the only time in a 10-game stretch, visiting Fairleigh Dickinson for a doubleheader. After walking off with a 4-3 victory in the first game, the Knights (27-18) posted a 5-2 win over the Jaspers (6-31) in the nightcap at FDU Softball Field.
Game one was scoreless until the fourth, when FDU got on the board with an unearned tally. The Knights then added a pair of runs in the fifth. After Caitlin Bradac was intentionally walked to load the bases with two out, Jordan Needle ripped a two-run single to left field that gave Fairleigh Dickinson a 3-0 advantage.
Manhattan rallied to tie it with a three-spot in the top of the sixth. Jocelin Whitmore (La Habra, Calif.) started the inning with a single to right, and Amanda Babcock (Haverstraw, N.Y.) followed with a shot to left field that hit the top of the wall and bounced over for a two-run homer. Kate Bowen (Newtown, Conn.) was up next, and she delivered a double to the wall in right center. She eventually moved to third on a wild pitch. With two down, Sydney Weedon (Santa Ana, Calif.) lifted a fly ball that was misplayed in center field, allowing Bowen to score the tying run. However, the inning ended when Weedon was thrown out trying to take second on the play.
With the game still knotted at 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh, Bradac started the inning with a double to left. After Maire Shaughnessy came in to run for Bradac, the Knights loaded the bases on a pair of walks. Bryana Dorado then singled to left, bringing in Shaughnessy with the winning run, as Fairleigh Dickinson took the contest by a 4-3 count.
The Jaspers had five hits in game one, led by Whitmore's 2-for-3 effort. Babcock went 1-for-3 with a two-run homer, while Bowen was 1-for-2 with a run scored in the first game. Kelsi Redding (Tucson, Ariz.) (2-11) took the loss in the circle after allowing four runs (three earned) on eight hits. She also struck out four and walked six (two intentionally) in six-plus innings of work.
Needle went 3-for-3 with a run scored and two RBIs for the Knights. Bradac added two hits, as FDU collected eight hits as a team. Megan Reiner (15-7) went the distance in the circle for Fairleigh Dickinson. She gave up three runs (two earned) and five hits while striking out eight and walking two.
In game two, Manhattan got out of the gate quickly with two runs in the top of the first. Whitmore reached on an error leading off the game, then Babcock beat the throw to first on what looked like a double play ball back to the pitcher. Bowen followed with a double to the gap in left center, driving in Babcock. After Bowen moved to third on a Meghan McDevitt (Nutley, N.J.) groundout, Mickayla Romero (Las Vegas, Nev.) brought her home with an RBI single to center.
However, the Knights responded with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning. The first runner came across when Maria Roney reached on an error, and Dorado tied the game with an RBI single to right. FDU added a pair of unearned tallies on Bradac's two-run single in the second. It looked like the Knights might tack on another, but a brilliant play by Babcock to snag a line drive ended the inning.
The Manhattan defense kept it at 4-2 in the bottom of the third, when Fairleigh Dickinson tallied three hits but failed to score. Paige Castro, who had doubled, was thrown out trying to score on Elizabeth Woidt's single to center, then the inning ended with Woidt getting thrown out at third on a single by Cindy Zamudio. In the bottom of the fifth, another FDU base runner was tagged out at the plate, as Roney tried to come home on a squeeze bunt by Paige Castro, but the Knights were able to add another tally on an RBI double by Woidt.
Bowen and Romero both notched a pair of hits in game two. Bowen added an RBI and a run scored, while Romero also drove in a run. The two also shared the pitching duties. Bowen (3-10) got the start and took the loss. She yielded four runs (two earned) on six hits while striking out one and walking one in 3.1 innings. Romero allowed one run and five hits in 2.2 innings of work.
As a team, FDU collected 11 hits in game two, led by Woidt's 3-for-3 effort. Woidt scored a run and drove in another. Zamudio was 2-for-4 with two runs scored, while Dorado went 2-for-3 with an RBI and Bradac collected a pair of RBIs. Shaughnessy (8-7) gave up two unearned runs and four hits, struck out two and walked one over seven innings in the circle.
The Jaspers (1-7 MAAC) resume Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play on Saturday, when Niagara (9-26, 2-6 MAAC) visits Gaelic Park for a 12 p.m. twinbill.
