Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. – With the Manhattan College softball team trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Mickayla Romero (Las Vegas, Nev.) belted a three-run walk-off home run to give the Jaspers (13-19, 3-3 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) a 3-1 victory and a doubleheader sweep of Canisius (10-22, 1-5 MAAC) at Gaelic Park on Saturday afternoon. Kate Bowen (Newtown, Conn.) tossed a three-hit shutout in game one, a 3-0 Manhattan win.
The contest was scoreless thru six innings. In fact, the teams entered the seventh with only one hit apiece. That changed when the Griffs' Lindsey Silfer led off the seventh with a single to center. After Michelle DelPrince bunted her to second, Silfer scored the first run of the game on Valorie Nappo's double to left. With a runner on second and one out, Amy Bright (Manlius, N.Y.) kept the score 1-0 by retiring Bethany DeMarco on a comebacker before Tori Nappo flied to center.
Elena Bowman (San Mateo, Calif.) was hit by a pitch leading off the bottom of the seventh. Jenn Vazquez (Fairfield, Conn.) then reached on an error to put runners on first and second with nobody out. After Andi Stallard (Katy, Texas) moved the runners up with a grounder to short, the Griffs chose to pitch to Stephanie Reinhardt (Albany, N.Y.). She fouled off a number of pitches before ultimately lifting a fly ball to center. However, it wasn't deep enough to score the tying run, bringing up Romero.
And the Manhattan third baseman delivered her second walk-off hit in four days, depositing Jen Consaul's offering over the left field fence for the game-winning three-run homer that gave the Jaspers their first-ever regular season sweep of the Griffs (the only other time Manhattan won two straight against Canisius, the Jaspers took two on the final day of the 1999 MAAC Tournament to clinch their only conference championship).
The only other Manhattan hit in the game was a one-out single by Stallard in the fifth that broke up Consaul's bid for a perfect game. Bright (5-10), meanwhile, was excellent in the circle. She gave up just one run on three hits, struck out six and walked two.
DelPrince's bunt single in the fourth was the first hit of the game for either team, as well as the only Canisius base knock until the seventh. After tossing a complete game in the opener, Consaul (9-13) threw another in game two. All three runs she allowed were unearned because of the error. Consaul gave up just two hits and walked one while also striking out two in 6.2 innings.
In game one, the Jaspers got to Consaul early, putting a single tally on the board in the first and another in the second. Manhattan loaded the bases with nobody out, as Bowen singled, Bowman was hit by a pitch and Amanda Paxson (Cedar Grove, N.J.) walked. Stallard then delivered a one-out single to center, giving the Jaspers a 1-0 lead. Manhattan increased that advantage to 2-0 when Bowman singled home Anna Crowley (Eastchester, N.Y.) in the second.
Manhattan added another run in the bottom of the fourth. Romero, Crowley and Bowen started the inning with three consecutive singles. Consaul struck out Bowman for the first out, then Bright sent a grounder towards third and the Griffs got Romero at home. However, the Canisius hurler couldn't escape the inning unscathed, as she hit Vazquez with a pitch to force in a run.
Bowen, meanwhile, was moving right along. She didn't allow a hit until Silfer's leadoff single in the fourth. After Silfer recorded her second hit, a one-out double in the sixth, Bowen retired the last five batters she faced. Meghan Cuda popped to second to wrap up the three-hit shutout, as Manhattan took the opener by a 3-0 count.
In addition to going the distance in the circle, Bowen went 2-for-4 at the plate with a run scored. Crowley also had a pair of hits and scored twice, while Stallard and Bowman each finished 1-for-3 with an RBI. Bowen (7-5) struck out three and walked two in her third shutout of the year.
Canisius, which saw its offense stymied all afternoon, was held to just three hits in game one, as well. Silfer ended up 2-for-3, while Jessica Berzins added a single. Consaul yielded three runs on seven hits, struck out two and walked one over seven innings in the opener.
The Jaspers conclude their six-game homestand with a 10 a.m. twinbill against Niagara (11-18, 2-4 MAAC) on Sunday. The Purple Eagles were swept in a doubleheader at Saint Peter's on Saturday.
