Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Elena Bowman (San Mateo, Calif.) belted a two-run homer to straightaway center field in the top of the seventh inning to lift the Manhattan College softball team (20-24, 9-7 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) to a 4-3 victory in game two of a doubleheader against Saint Peter's (10-38, 4-12 MAAC) at Jaroschak Field on Sunday. The Jaspers also won the opener, 7-3.
Saint Peter's had taken a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the sixth on solo home runs by Erica Colon and Crystal Carlucci. The Jaspers sent the top of the order up in the seventh, and Kate Bowen (Newtown, Conn.) reached on an error to start the inning. That brought up Bowman, and she fouled off five straight pitches before connecting for the go-ahead two-run shot. Danielle Gabriel (Island Heights, N.J.) then shut the door in the bottom of the seventh, sending the Peacocks down in order to cap the important MAAC sweep.
Manhattan jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Mickayla Romero's (Las Vegas, Nev.) solo home run in the second before the Peacocks tied it on an RBI single by Aimee Schnecker in the third. The Jaspers went back in the front in the fifth, scoring a run without benefit of a hit. After Bowman was hit by a pitch, Amanda Paxson (Cedar Grove, N.J.) drew a walk. Pinch runner Lauren Visconti (Stewartsville, N.J.) then moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Jenn Vazquez's (Fairfield, Conn.) sacrifice fly to deep left.
The home run was Bowman's second of the day and 11th of the season, tying her for the league lead. She also had a single in the game and drove in two runs. Bowen went 1-for-4 with a run scored, while Paxson, Romero and Stephanie Reinhardt (Albany, N.Y.) all finished 1-for-3. Amy Bright (Manlius, N.Y.) (8-13) earned the win after allowing three runs on five hits with four strikeouts and two walks in six innings. Gabriel recorded a strikeout in the seventh, as she picked up her second save of the day (and third of the season).
Five different Peacocks had hits in the contest, with Colon and Carlucci each belting homers and Schnecker driving in Amber Velasquez for the other Saint Peter's run. After Colon, a senior making her final home appearance, got the start and pitched to one batter, Carlucci went the next three innings in the circle. She yielded one run on three hits and walked one. Despite not giving up a hit in three innings of work, Tori Feorenzo was charged with a run and four walks. Colon (5-20), who reentered as a pinch hitter in the sixth, pitched the seventh and was tagged with the loss. She surrendered two runs (one earned) on three hits and walked one.
Colon also started game one, and the Jaspers got to her early, putting up a four-spot in the top of the first. Bowen started the rally with a leadoff single and Bowman followed with a double to left center. After Paxson walked to load the bases, Vazquez sent a grounder towards third, and the Peacocks threw out Bowen at home before completing the double play. Andi Stallard (Katy, Texas) was up next, and her dribbler down the first base line stayed fair, allowing Bowman to come across with the game's first run. Reinhardt then connected for her first career home run, a three-run blast to left that gave Manhattan a 4-0 lead.
Nicole Olmedo cut the Jaspers' advantage to 4-2 with a two-run homer in the bottom of the first, but Bowman went yard in the top of the second to make it 5-2. In the top of the third, Manhattan loaded the bases on three successive infield singles by Reinhardt, Romero and Bright. Bowen then knocked in a run with a single to right.
After Saint Peter's picked up another run in the fourth to pull within 6-3, Manhattan again opened up a four-run lead with a tally in the seventh. Emily Cutler (Bloomingdale, N.J.) was hit by a pitch leading off the inning, then Sydney Weedon (Santa Ana, Calif.) dropped down a sacrifice bunt. Bowen followed with a double, but the ball was hit too shallow in left field and Cutler had to hold at third. She scored one batter later, though, on Bowman's groundout to short. Gabriel gave up a one-out single in the bottom of the seventh before striking out Samantha Storms to wrap up the 7-3 Manhattan win.
The Jaspers belted out 12 hits in the opener, with Bowen and Bowman both going 3-for-5. Bowen also drove in a run, while Bowman, who was a triple short of the cycle, knocked in a pair and scored twice. Reinhardt ended up 2-for-3 with two runs scored and three RBIs, and Bright went 2-for-3, as well. Bowen (10-6) earned the win after tossing 4.1 innings in the circle. She allowed three runs on six hits, struck out four and walked four. Gabriel pitched 2.2 innings of scoreless relief, yielding just two hits while striking out two for the save.
Stephanie Gilronan finished 3-for-4 with a run scored for the Peacocks. Olmedo, meanwhile, was 1-for-4 with a run scored and three RBIs. In addition to going 2-for-4 at the plate, Colon went the distance in the circle in game one. She was charged with seven runs, 12 hits and four walks. Colon also registered a strikeout, the only one of the day for the Saint Peter's pitching staff.
With the sweep, Manhattan's magic number to clinch a place in the MAAC Tournament is now two. The Jaspers will have a chance to earn a postseason berth next weekend, but first, they conclude non-conference play by welcoming Sacred Heart (12-26) to Gaelic Park for a 3 p.m. doubleheader on Tuesday.
