Ninth-Inning Rally Comes Up Short In Loss to Griffs

RIVERDALE, N.Y. – After trailing by six with two out and nobody on in the bottom of the ninth, the Manhattan College baseball team brought the winning run to the plate on Sunday afternoon at Van Cortlandt Park.  However, Jon Fitzsimmons struck out Kyle Murphy (Waterbury, Conn.) to end the comeback attempt and give Canisius (27-10, 7-5 MAAC) an 8-5 win over the Jaspers (16-21, 6-9 MAAC) in the finale of a three-game set.  With the victory, the Griffs became the first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) opponent to sweep a series at Van Cortlandt Park in six years.

The Jaspers were down 8-1 before beginning the comeback in earnest with one run in the bottom of the eighth.  Nick Camastro (Lagrangeville, N.Y.) was hit by a pitch leading off the inning and scored on Ramon Ortega's (Miami, Fla.) RBI single. 

In the bottom of the ninth, Canisius quickly recorded the first two outs before Brendan Slattery (Danbury, Conn.) kept the Jaspers alive with a single through the left side.  After Yoandry Galan (Miami, Fla.) and Camastro each drew a walk to load the bases, pinch-hitter Matt Troisi (Brooklyn, N.Y.) was issued a free pass, forcing in a run.

Ortega was up next, and his single through the left side knocked in a pair, pulling the Jaspers within three at 8-5 and prompting the Griffs to call upon Fitzsimmons, their closer.  The first batter he faced was Christian Santisteban (Miami, Fla.), who represented the tying run.  Fitzsimmons walked Santisteban to load the bases before striking out Murphy to secure the sweep, the first in Riverdale by a visiting MAAC team since LeMoyne on May 12-13, 2007.

Manhattan got on the board first with a run in the bottom of the second.  Andrew Gorecki (Smithtown, N.Y.) ripped a one-out double and moved to third when Slattery hit into a fielder's choice.  Galan followed with a grounder deep into the hole at shortstop, and he slid into first base ahead of the throw, allowing Gorecki to come across with the game's first run.

Michael Scarinci (Nanuet, N.Y.) made his first start of the season on the mound and retired the first 10 Canisius hitters he faced before hitting Anthony Massicci with a pitch with one out in the fourth.  He then issued back-to-back walks to Jimmy Luppens and Jesse Kelso before Jesse Puscheck lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, tying the game at 1-1.

Canisius then took the lead on Ronnie Bernick's two-run homer in the fifth.  The Griffs added two more in the sixth and three in the seventh.

The Jaspers outhit the Griffs 9-7, with Ortega going 3-for-5 with three RBIs.  Slattery was 2-for-4 with a run scored, while Camastro walked twice and scored a pair of runs.  Scarinci (2-3) went five innings on the hill and took the loss.  He allowed three runs on two hits, struck out five and walked two.  Matt Jordan (Kingston, N.Y.) gave up two runs and two hits in one inning of relief, and Sean Abbate (Levittown, N.Y.) yielded three runs on three hits, walked two and struck out one in his inning of work.  Chris Liquori (Wyckoff, N.J.) tossed the final two innings, not allowing a run and issuing just a walk.

Luppens went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI for the Griffs.  Massicci also scored twice, while Bernick was 1-for-3 with two runs scored and a pair of RBIs.  Connor Panas drove in two runs, as well.  Starter Devon Stewart (3-4) lasted seven innings.  He was charged with one run on six hits, struck out five and walked one.  Three different Canisius relievers combined to allow four runs and three hits over 1.2 innings before Fitzsimmons recorded the final out for his second save of the series and seventh of the season.