Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
RIVERDALE, N.Y. – The Manhattan College softball team completed a weekend sweep of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) rivals Canisius and Niagara with a pair of 2-1 victories over the Purple Eagles (11-20, 2-6 MAAC) at Gaelic Park on Sunday. The Jaspers (15-19, 5-3 MAAC) won the opener in eight innings on Kate Bowen's (Newtown, Conn.) walk-off home run, then scored the winning run on Stephanie Reinhardt's (Albany, N.Y.) sixth-inning single in game two.
Bowen was in the circle for game one, and she gave up a run in the top of the first on Desarae Maldonado's RBI double. However, in the bottom half of the inning, she took Jennifer Sansano's first pitch deep to center, and it bounced off the top of the wall for a leadoff double. Anna Crowley (Eastchester, N.Y.) followed with a walk, and the runners moved to second and third on an Elena Bowman (San Mateo, Calif.) groundout. Jenn Vazquez (Fairfield, Conn.) was up next, and she grounded out to short, allowing Bowen to come across with the tying run.
Both Bowen and Sansano settled into a groove after that. Niagara's only other hit in the game was a two-out single by Chanelle Ward in the second, and Bowen retired the next 16 Purple Eagles she faced after that until pinch hitter Sarah March was by a pitch leading off the eighth. Bowen also got plenty of help from her defense, as Andi Stallard (Katy, Texas) and Emily Cutler (Bloomingdale, N.J.) each made a spectacular catch in the outfield to save extra-base hits and keep the game tied.
Sansano, meanwhile, was progressing through the Manhattan lineup just as easily. The Jaspers had just three base runners between the first and the seventh on a pair of walks and a Bowman single. Each pitcher had a 1-2-3 seventh to send the game into extra innings.
Ward tried to drop down a sacrifice bunt after the leadoff hit batsman in the top of the eighth, but ended up running into the ball in fair territory for the first out. Brittany Richberg then sent a comebacker right back to Bowen before Ambur Farmer popped to short. After Cutler struck out leading off the bottom of the eighth, Bowen ended Manhattan's second straight walk-off win with a solo shot to center.
In addition to collecting two of the Jaspers' three hits, both going for extra bases, Bowen (8-5) went the distance in the circle and allowed just one run on four hits. She also struck out four without walking a batter.
Niagara was limited to just three singles and Maldonado's RBI double in game one. Sansano yielded two runs on three hits, struck out 12 and walked three in 7.1 innings of work.
Manhattan struck early again in game two, and again it was Bowen who got the rally started. She led off with a single and moved to second when the ball was misplayed in center field. The Purple Eagles tried to keep her from advancing on Crowley's groundout, but the throw went into the dugout, giving Bowen the extra base and Manhattan a 1-0 lead.
The first two Purple Eagles hitters in the top of the third singled before Amy Bright (Manlius, N.Y.) got three ground balls to escape the inning unscathed. The inning ended when Mickayla Romero (Las Vegas, Nev.) saved a run with a great stop on Bridget Hinton's shot that looked ticketed for left field. Niagara did tie it in the fifth, though, when Maldonado sent a deep drive to center. Cutler almost made a sensational catch, but crashed into the fence and dropped the ball over for a home run that made it 1-1.
Bright worked around a pair of singles in the top of the sixth, then Vazquez ripped a one-out single in the bottom half of the inning. After moving up to second on Stallard's grounder to short, she was lifted for pinch runner Lauren Visconti (Stewarstville, N.J.). Reinhardt was up next and she sent a chopper towards short that bounced awkwardly on the turf. Visconti was running on the play and turned for home as soon as she saw the ball bounce away from the Niagara shortstop. The throw to the plate was not in time (and errant), putting the Jaspers back in front, 2-1.
From there, Bright took care of the rest. She retired Ward on a grounder back to the circle before Reinhardt tracked down Richberg's foul ball for the second out. Farmer then sent a grounder to short, and Reinhardt made the throw to first to complete Manhattan's 2-1 victory.
Manhattan recorded just five hits in game two, with Reinhardt notching a double, as well as the game-winning RBI. Stallard, Vazquez and Bowen had the other Jasper hits in the contest. Bright (6-10) scattered six hits in seven innings of one-run ball. She struck out three and walked two.
Maldonado's homer was the only extra-base hit for Niagara, which ended up with six base knocks as a team. Sansano (8-6) pitched another complete game in the second contest. She yielded two runs (one earned) on five hits, struck out five and walked two.
After playing 14 out of their last 18 games at home, the Jaspers hit the road for their next four. Manhattan visits Siena (17-16, 5-1 MAAC) at 12 p.m. on Wednesday for a doubleheader that was originally scheduled for March 31, but had to be postponed due to weather.
